A Revelation
by ytsgrl
Summary: Brooke Scott has just received shocking news that will change her life and the lives of her children. Her best friend, and brother in law, Nathan, is the only one who she can turn to. Completely AU.
1. Introduction

**Introduction**

"Hey, you're home early." Brooke finished washing the last of the dirty dishes and set it in the dish drainer next to her sink, "I was just finishing up here and then leaving to pick up the kids."

Her husband smiled at her and watched her move gracefully around the kitchen. He had always admired how she could just float through a room completing a list of tasks and yet seemingly never touching a thing.

"I took work off early and came home to talk to you." He sat down on a stool at their kitchen island and smiled at her, "You have a few minutes before you have to leave?"

Brooke looked up at the clock above her sink and nodded.

"Ok. So… you're not gonna like what I have to say."

"Never start a sentence out like that if you want me to stick around and on that note, my few minutes are up. Gotta run."

"Brooke, sit down." He commanded her running his fingers through her hair, "Please, sit so we can talk."

Brooke groaned and pulled up a stool.

"I'm scared and I'd like to make this as quick and painless as possible so please…"

"Brooke, I'm gay."

Brooke was silent as she stared into his crystal blue eyes. Was she really hearing what she thought she was hearing?

"You're kidding right?" Brooke began to laugh as she stood, "This is all a really hilarious practical joke that you decided to play on me. I'm laughing. It's funny but really, I have to go pick up our children now…"

"Brooke, I'm not kidding. I'm gay."

She fell back onto her stool, her laughing turning into more of a panicked breathing cycle. She soon felt like she wasn't getting enough oxygen which led to the beginning of hyperventilation and she began to cough.

"Brooke, sweetie. Breathe. Ok, hold on. Deep breath in." Her husband was immediately by her side and helping her stand so that she could start breathing, "Inhale Brooke. Calm down and breathe…"

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Brooke pushed him away from her and stood tall, her eyes glowing with anger suddenly, "I will not be calm when my husband is standing here telling me that he is gay! Fifteen years of marriage and suddenly this! Jesus Lucas, when were you planning on telling me? When our daughter got married? Or maybe when our son graduates from high school? This might have been a vital piece of information fifteen years ago… WHEN I MARRIED YOU!"

Lucas Scott watched his wife scream at him and all the visions of what this moment would be like couldn't have possibly lived up to the terror he felt right now, when she was so close to knives and other sharp objects she could throw at him.

"Brooke please…"

"Shut up." She hissed at him, "Just shut up. I have to go pick up the kids from school now and then Laney has piano practice, Vaughn has math tutoring, Tavian has soccer practice, Saylor and I have a mommy and me art class then they all have to be re-picked up and fed. So right now, I really don't have time for your little… revelation. Have a great day."

She slammed the back door behind her as she left the house then re-opened it to grab her keys and purse off the kitchen counter, slamming it again as she screamed "ASSHOLE!" at the top of her lungs.

Lucas heard the car start in the driveway and speed away from the house. What had he done?


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

"You're kidding right?" Nathan laughed into his phone while he paced his office, "No way is my brother gay."

"I thought the same thing Nate. I thought 'Haha, great practical joke. I bet Nathan's in on it and after I freak out, they're both gonna laugh at me for months.' But no. He was completely serious and I don't honestly know what to do right now. What's the correct reaction to 'Sweetie, I'm gay' coming out of your husband's mouth?"

Nathan sighed.

"If I knew the answer to that, I think I'd be the gay one." Nathan sighed, "Brooke, I don't know what to say."

"Me either. I… I can't tell the kids. Laney and Vaughn are in high school! They'd be… crucified if word got out that their father was gay. Tavian… he's six. Do six year olds even know what gay is? And Lexi, my innocent baby girl. Three year olds should not have to deal with this."

"No one should have to deal with this." Nathan replied, "I just… I can't comprehend right now. Lucas is gay?"

"So he says. Listen Nate, I got to go. Laney and Vaughn are coming out."

"Not actually 'coming out' like Luke…"  
"Funny man you are. Funny man. Gotta go."

"Call me later."

"Bye."

Nathan hung up and collapsed into his desk chair. He pressed the intercom button to his secretary.

"Jane, hold all my calls and cancel my meetings. I think I'm gonna go home early."

"Yes Mr. Scott." Jane replied.

He released the intercom button and let his hand fall to his side again.

Nathan and Lucas had always been the best of friends. Born only 11 months apart, from a young age they were inseparable. They went everywhere together and did everything together. Both boys learned how to ride a bike at the same time. They joined the basketball team together. Got their first girlfriends on the same day of the same year. They were best friends. And only Brooke Davis had been able to come between them.

Brooke Davis. She had started out as the annoying little girl from next door. She moved to the neighborhood when she was five, the same age as Nathan. Lucas was six. She pranced around in frilly dresses, always twirling her pigtails as if she were innocent.

Nathan was the first to discover she was anything but innocent.

When they were seven years old, she gave him his first kiss. They sat on the swing set in her backyard, swinging idly in the warm sun of summer. She looked over at him and smiled, that perfect Davis smile she had perfected even before birth. She had proof of that. Her sonogram pictures showed it. But that was beside the point, she was smiling AT him that day. He slowed his swing. She slowed hers. They sat, just staring at each other and then she did it. She leaned over and kissed him.

It wasn't anything spectacular. A simple first kiss for two seven year olds but Nathan had never been able to forget that moment. Not even 28 years later.

Brooke started dating Lucas in the eighth grade. Even though she and Nathan had always been best friends, and everyone had predicted they'd get married someday, at the tender age of 14, she had declared she would only date older men. Lucas was what she described as 'dreamy' and he was a high school boy. What was better than a high school boy? She asked Lucas to go to the Spring Formal with her and Nathan, being jealous, asked another girl, just to get back at her. At the formal, Lucas asked Brooke to be his girlfriend, even though he had never shown any interest in her before that. Nathan was furious, and jealous, and so he asked the girl he was with to be his girlfriend too.

After that, it was Lucas and Brooke who were inseparable.

"Mr. Scott, your brother's on line one." Jane interrupted his daydream and Nathan came crashing back to reality.

"Tell him I've gone home for the day." Nathan growled back, unable to even process enough thought to figure out what he'd say to Lucas if he did pick up the phone.

"I already told him you were here sir. I can tell him you're busy." Jane offered.

Nathan sighed.

"No Jane, I'll… talk to him. Thank you."

Nathan picked up his phone and growled.

"What?"

"I'm guessing you've already talked to Brooke."

"I wish I hadn't. This was definitely not the way I envisioned my day going."

"Listen Nathan, I didn't mean for it to happen like this. I wanted to tell her sooner and tell you…"

"I'm not really interested in your excuses Luke. How long have you known? Always? Since high school? Or is this a recent development? Was Brooke a cover up for you? Did she ever really mean anything to you?"

"Yes she meant something to me. I love her!" Lucas protested, "And I… I don't know when I knew that I was…"

"Don't say it. Please… Do not say it."

"I'm gay Nathan."

"I asked you not to say it." Nathan groaned, "Luke really, I can't deal with this right now. I'm… up to my neck in work stuff. I have meetings to get to and deals to finalize. This is not the best time for me to discuss your sexual orientation. Not with you. Not with your wife."

"I bet you were perfectly willing to talk to her. Once you get me on the phone though, you're busy."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Nathan retorted.

"It means that I know you have always had a thing for my wife. I get it. And you've hated the fact that I got her. That she married me and settled down with me, and not you. All these years, I knew that you wanted her."

"You knew that I wanted her but you couldn't figure out that you're gay a little sooner? That's a bit odd." Nathan scoffed and rolled his eyes, "What would you say if I told you you're right? That I've always had a thing for Brooke. Since I was seven years old, I've been in love with your wife. What would you say?"

"Good for you. Maybe you can take care of her now."

Nathan hung up on Lucas faster than even he realized was possible. The phone slammed back into it's cradle with a satisfactory crack and Nathan ran his fingers through his hair roughly.

He could admit it these days. He had been in love with Brooke Davis from the time they were seven years old and she kissed him in her back yard. He loved her when she started dating his brother. He loved her when she was 16 and lost her virginity to Lucas, a fact he heard about directly from her mouth since she loved to tell him all the things that drove him crazy. He loved her when she was 18 and engaged to his brother. He loved her when they went to separate colleges across the country from each other but talked every night, just to keep in touch. He loved her when she was a raving lunatic, planning her wedding just after graduating college and when she was the perfect bride on the perfect day. He loved her during her first pregnancy… and her second…and her third. He loved her through everything, but she had loved Lucas. And he had learned to accept that.

"Mr. Scott, your brother is on line one again. Shall I tell him you just stepped out?"

Nathan groaned once again.

"No, I'll talk to him." Nathan picked up the receiver and placed it calmly against his ear, "What?"

"I was out of line on that. I'm sorry." Lucas apologized immediately, "I didn't mean to upset you Nate. I just… I've hurt her. She's never going to forgive me for this and I accept that, but above all I love her and I want her to be happy."

"And what do you want me to do about that?"

"To give her time to accept all this, I am going to leave town for awhile. The firm offered me a position opening a new practice in St. Louis and I've taken it. I want you to take care of her."

"I don't think that running away is the best decision for everyone Lucas. You may want to reconsider."

"No. This is the best thing and I am not running away. I'm letting her figure things out. Giving her space."

"What about the kids? What is she supposed to tell them?"

"You don't need to worry about that part. I'm taking care of it. Just… make sure she's ok will you? Make sure Brooke is ok."

Against all his better judgment, Nathan heard himself agreeing. He heard the words coming out of his mouth telling Lucas that he would keep an eye on Brooke and not to worry about anything while he was gone. It was now his job to watch over his gay brother's wife, the same woman who he had been in love with for 28 years.

"Remember at your wedding, when I told you if you hurt Brooke, I'd kill you?" Nathan asked Lucas before they hung up.

"Yeah."

"It's a good thing you're going far away cause I still may kill you."

"I love you Nate."

"Gross Luke, you're my brother!" Nathan objected playfully.

Lucas laughed.

"Real funny smart ass. You know what I meant."

"Yeah, I do." Nathan laughed, "Have a safe trip."

"Thanks."


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

"Tavian, put your backpack in the living room on the coffee table then come get a snack. Vaughn and Laney, please get your dirty laundry and bring it downstairs. Saylor my love, are you hungry?" Brooke quickly multi-managed her family as they walked into their house.

"Vewy hungy." Saylor nodded and Brooke set her down in her high chair by the kitchen table.

She was going to go make snacks for all the kids when it all came rushing back to her. Sitting here, in this kitchen with Lucas, not today when he had admitted his homosexuality, but a few years back. They had been happy then.

"_The kids are gone… we're home alone." Lucas pulled his beautiful, six month pregnant wife into his arms and kissed her softly, "What do you say I fix you dinner and we eat out on the terrace? Then I'll take you upstairs and ravage you."_

_Brook laughed loudly, relishing her time in his arms._

"_I love you Lucas Scott. How about we skip dinner and go straight to the ravaging?"_

"_Yeah?" The glint in Lucas' eyes shone bright as he pressed her back against the counter, "I gotta take you upstairs for that? Or can I ravage you right here?"_

_Brooke wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing her stomach against his and leaning up to kiss him softly._

"_Take me here sailor." She whispered against his lips._

_Their tongues met almost before their lips did and she groaned as his hands roamed the length of her body. He was about to pull her shirt over her head when he felt a hard kick in his own stomach. He looked down and smiled, seeing the little movement being transferred from his wife's belly to his own._

"_I think she likes this." Brooke laughed happily, "We should do it more often."_

"_I think she just likes hearing the word sailor come out of your mouth. I know I do." Lucas leaned in and kissed her again, this time slowly and passionately._

_Brooke returned the kiss fiercely and arched up into him._

"_Maybe we should name her sailor then."_

_Lucas raised his eyebrows and then grinned as he felt the baby kick again._

"_I think that is the perfect idea."_

"MOM!" Laney and Vaughn brought her crashing back into reality as they screamed her name.

She snapped out of it and noticed she was standing in front of the refrigerator, one hand with cheese slices in it, the other resting against her lips. The fantasy had felt so real…

"Sorry. What's going on?" Brooke closed the refrigerator door and turned to the counter to grab the bread for grilled cheese sandwiches.

"These were on our beds. They're from dad." Laney held up two white envelopes, each with a name scrawled on it.

The twins stared at her, returning her own blank gaze, as she was at a loss for words. Why had Lucas left letters? And where was he anyway?

"Did you read them?" Brooke choked out, unsure of her own voice.

"No." Vaughn stepped forward and handed hers to her mom, "When I opened the envelope it said to talk to you first."

Brooke opened the envelope she had been handed and looked over the letter quickly.

"Dear Vaughn,

You'll find this letter to be identical to the one sitting on your sister's bed. There are so many things that I wish I could say to you, but none of them could make what I need to tell you any less real and any less painful.

Fourteen years ago, when you and your sister were born, I was so thrilled to be a father. It was all new to your mother and I. We had twin baby girls and we were thoroughly in love. In love with each other. In love with you… No matter what happens now my sweet baby girl, you have to remember that I will always, always love you just as I will always, always love your mom and your brother and sisters. But I have to tell you that things are going to change now because I've realized that I'm gay. And because I know that this is a hard thing for your mother to deal with, and it's going to be hard on you, I thought it would be best to give you all some space to deal with this. I've moved to St. Louis.

Again sweetheart, you have to know that I will always love you. You can call me anytime you need to talk, even if you want to scream at me. I want you to be able to express how you feel about this.

Love always and forever,

Daddy"

Brooke wiped a tear from her cheek and then folded the letter back up and replaced it in the envelope. She took Laney's too.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Laney watched her mother take the letters and toss them in the garbage, quickly wiping away her tears.

"You sister's hungry and I'm sure Tavian is too. I um…" Brooke took a deep breath, "I'll explain everything to you when I have them settled ok?"

Laney and Vaughn shared a look then shrugged.

"Ok." Vaughn agreed, "Is it bad? Why are you crying? And where's dad?"

"Just… give me five minutes girls ok? Just go… watch TV or something."

The twins nodded and then went into the other room.

Brooke managed to compose herself while she made grilled cheese sandwiches for the kids.

"Mommy… what does gay mean?" Tavian entered the kitchen and sat down at the table placing a white envelope in front of him.

Brooke's head whipped around and she groaned audibly, staring at the envelope clearly marked for Tavian on the table.

"Where did you get that?"

"It was on my bed. What does gay mean?" Tavian repeated himself, "Daddy wrote me a letter and it says he's gay."

"Woah, dad's what?" Vaughn frowned at her little brother as she re-entered the kitchen, snapping his letter off the table and opening it, "Dear Tavian, I'm gonna keep this simple since you're just learning to read. I love you but I'm gay and so I had to leave. Ask mommy. Love, Daddy."

Brooke turned off the stove where the grilled cheese was finished and silently took them off the grill, serving one to Saylor and one to Tavian.

She finally got up the courage to look up at her teenage daughter, standing in the doorway, now joined by her other teen, and she sighed.

"I just found out today."

"Is that what ours said? Dear Laney and Vaughn, sorry but I'm gay? What the hell mom?" Vaughn crumpled up Tavian's letter and threw it to the floor, "This is bullshit. Where is he?"

"Don't use that language Vaughn. Go to the living room. I will talk to you there."

"This affects all of us mom. Tavian and Saylor should hear too." Laney stood firmly in the doorway.

"They don't understand Laney. You and Vaughn do. We will talk in the living room."

"I wanna know what gay means." Tavian spoke up, "Please mommy. Don't leave me in the dark."

Any other time and Brooke would have laughed at her son, just for knowing that saying. Today, it was different. She didn't want to taint her little boy's outlook on the world at such a young age. She wanted to protect him. Protect all four of them. Lucas had made that impossible now.

"Gay means… it means daddy likes guys sweetheart. Daddy is attracted to guys."

"What's attracted?"

"Dad likes to kiss guys Tavian. Like he used to kiss mom. He likes to kiss guys like that now." Vaughn groaned, "Where is he?"

"That's gross." Tavian frowned and looked up to his mom, "Is that what it means?"

Brooke began to cry again, her tears flowing freely as she sat down at the table. She didn't have the strength to explain this right now. It was just hitting her. The love of her life… Lucas, the man who had fathered all four of her beautiful children, liked men. Not her. No, he didn't love her anymore. He would rather be with a man. And it was all too much. Sure she had been mad at him at first, but she had also expected to come home and talk it out with him. She didn't expect him to be gone when she had returned, leaving her the impossible task of explaining this all to her kids. How could she explain it to them when she didn't understand it herself?

"Vaughn, the note said he went to St. Louis to give us space. Tavian, that's what it means but sweetie, we don't know that daddy is doing that ok? He still loves you. And right now, he's just re-thinking some things. You don't need to worry about it."

"Dad's gone and you're telling Tavian not to worry? No way. I'm calling him." Vaughn rushed across the kitchen and grabbed the phone from the wall unit, quickly dialing her father's cell phone number.

"I don't want daddy to be gone." Tavian's eyes were starting to water up and he pushed his sandwich away, "I want him to come back. He's just at work right mommy?"

Brooke looked up at Vaughn who was tapping her foot impatiently while the phone rang on her ear.

There was nothing that Brooke could say to make this better and she knew it. Saylor was still eating, but she kept throwing glances from her mom to her sister to her brother and around again. Laney still stood, leaning against the doorjamb, as if she were unsure how she should be reacting to this. All Brooke could do was pull Tavian into her lap and hold him as he began to cry.

"About time you answer your phone." Vaughn hissed angrily into the phone, "Where the hell are you?"

"Vaughn listen to me…" Lucas started.

"No, you listen to me. You wanna be gay? Fine. But do NOT be a coward and run away from us. Get back here now and explain yourself. A note is not sufficient."

"You sound so grown up…" Lucas sighed.

"Dad! I mean it! Tavian's crying. Mom's crying. I officially hate you. You have a responsibility to us!"

"Did you read the note Vaughn?"

"No, I gave it to mom and she threw it away? Why? Did it explain why you suddenly have the urge to stick it to men instead?"

"Vaughn, cut it out." Brooke groaned suddenly, "You're mad, fine. But do not use that language."

"Vaughn, I love you. I love your sisters and your brother. I love your mom. But there comes a point in a persons life when they have to realize that they've been running from who they truly are for a long time, and it's time for me to stop running."

"Funny how you're still running away to St. Louis." Vaughn huffed.

"I'm gay. It doesn't mean that I'm not still your dad and that I don't love you. I do love you. I just… need some time."

"But why are you running away from us?" The first sign of an emotion other than anger came rolling down Vaughn's cheek very slowly and she quickly wiped it away.

"I'm not sweetie. I'm going to St. Louis for a job. I'll be back. I promise."

"Not good enough." Vaughn let her tears continue freely, all the while trying her best to remain angry, "I hate you."

"You can hate me. That's allowed but I'm not gonna stop loving you."

She refused to speak after that, merely setting the phone on the counter and walking away.

Brooke laid Tavian's head against her shoulder and stood, her son in her arms, while she picked up the phone.

"Luke?" She questioned.

"I'm here." He replied, almost in a whisper.

"Where are you?"

"St. Louis." Lucas sighed, "My company is opening a new firm here in St. Louis. They asked me to head it up. I guess I should have stayed to explain things to the kids first huh?"

"Yeah." Brooke sighed, "Too late for should have's now I guess."

"Do you hate me too?" Lucas asked still using a hushed tone, "Does Laney hate me? And Tavian?"

"Laney…" Brooke looked over at Laney who was wiping away a single tear when she heard her name, "Laney's upset but I couldn't honestly tell you what she's feeling right now. Tavian is… crying but I don't think he really understands what's going on except that you're gone, and he wants you to come back."

"Me too." Saylor spoke up finally, reaching up for the phone, "I want daddy."

"Can I talk to her?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah."

Brooke handed the phone to Saylor and stood, quietly reassuring Tavian that everything would be ok while her youngest talked.

"Daddy, what's for story tonight?" Saylor asked, clearly under the impression daddy would be home for her bedtime story.

"I don't know baby girl. Mommy's gonna read to you tonight."

"But I like it when you do it." Saylor frowned, "Tomorrow then?"

"No sweetie. Daddy's gonna be gone for awhile. Mommy will read to you though. She does it even better than me."

"Uh-uh!" Saylor objected, "Mommy doesn't do all the voices like you. I miss you already. When are you coming home?"

"I don't know Saylor."

"Friday?"

It was Friday already and Lucas couldn't resist his laugh.

"Today is Friday, Say. I'll be home soon ok?"

"Ok." Saylor sighed, "I love you daddy. Kisses."

She blew kisses into the phone and grinned when she put it back to her ear, waiting for her father to return the sentiment.

"I love you too Saylor. Kisses."

She heard the kisses on the receiver, and satisfied, she handed the phone back to Brooke.

"I need to get the kids settled. Homework, baths, and bed. We need to talk about this so can I call you back in a few hours?"

"Sure." Lucas nodded.

"Talk to you later."

"Brooke?" Lucas stopped her from hanging up.

"What?" Brooke sighed.

"I do love you." He said simply, "Contrary to popular belief, gay men can still love women. I do love you."

"Good bye Lucas." Brooke hung up the phone and cradled Tavian still, walking towards the spot Laney was still glued to, "Laney?"

"I can't believe he'd do this to us." Laney sighed, standing up straight to face her mother, "And I can't believe you'd let him."

She ran away and slammed the door to her bedroom before Brooke could even move a single step.

Brooke just sighed once again before moving to the living room where she sat Tavian down then returned to the kitchen to get Saylor and bring her to join them.

The three of them watched cartoons for hours before Tavian got into the bathtub and then went to bed. Brooke bathed Saylor shortly after and tucked her in, reading her a quick bedtime story then returning to the living room.

The day still seemed like a horrible dream, even after one last encounter with Vaughn who huffed, puffed, grabbed some chips, and returned to her room. All the lights were out when Brooke returned to the kitchen at midnight.

After much debate she hung the phone up on the cradle and walked away. The phone call to Lucas never happened.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

"So you never talked to him?" Nathan questioned Brooke while they drank coffee early Saturday morning.

"No, I didn't call him back and he hasn't called me. I just don't know what to do Nate!" Brooke groaned, "How am I supposed to handle this?"

"I don't know Brooke. Luke is my only brother so I've never experienced this before. I think it's shitty that he left you and the kids. I'd be upset about that."

"I don't have the energy to be upset." Brooke let her head fall to the counter and Nathan moved behind her, rubbing her back gently.

"Right now I think that we should just focus on the kids. Make sure they're handling the situation and then we'll focus on you. How does that sound?"

Brooke stood and turned around, smiling at him.

"Thanks Nate, but you don't have to do this. I can handle it."

"I wanna help." Nathan didn't have to say anything else. The resonation in his voice told her it was final, and he would be helping, no matter what she said to persuade him otherwise.

Brooke was grateful for Nathan being there. He had always been there for her, so she shouldn't have expected any less, but nonetheless, she was grateful for his presence. Lucas's announcement the day before had taken her life and spun it in different directions. No longer did she have a gameplan. She was barely surviving.

"Shall we make the kids breakfast before they wake up?" Nathan asked, sipping the last of his coffee and placing his mug in the sink.

He watched her inhale deeply and then nod.

"Yeah, I'll make the eggs. You make the bacon and toast?"

"Sure thing." Nathan agreed.

Brooke took the eggs, bacon and bread out of the refrigerator, setting them on the counter. She and Nathan didn't exchange any other words during the preparation of breakfast. They just cooked and then set the food out before looking at each other to decide on the next step.

"I'll wake Vaughn and Laney, you get Saylor and Tavian?" Nathan offered, "Make things easy on you."

Brooke laughed slightly and nodded.

"Sounds good."

Twenty minutes later they all sat down to breakfast together, but everyone was silent. The tension was thick in the air, as if none of them had anything to say or, as was the case, had everything to say but unsure of how to say it.

"So, I know that your dad is gone for awhile but um…" Nathan looked around at all the kids, "If you need anything, you can ask me and I'll be there for you."

"Are you gonna be our new daddy?" Vaughn asked in her fake sugary sweet tone, "Gee Uncle Nate, that's real swell of you."

"Vaughn!" Brooke snapped, "Your Uncle Nathan is trying to help so cut the crap."

"Oh, was that what that was? Help? Cause it sounded an awful lot like being pathetic. You should make yourself more clear next time Uncle Nate."

"That is enough!" Brooke threw her fork down onto her plate, causing everyone at the table to jump, "Your dad is gone. That upsets you. I understand that. But you are not going to take it out on Nathan when all he is trying to do is help us. So quit acting like this is only happening to you and grow up little girl. Your dad left all of us and we are all affected, so have a little consideration for the other people around you."

"What do you want me to do? Pretend like everything's ok? Like we're still a family only dad's not here and Uncle Nathan is? Newsflash! Dad is gay and he's gone! We're no longer a family!"

"You, your sisters, your brother and I, and yes your Uncle Nathan too, are still family whether you like it or not. Sit down. Shut up. And eat."

Brooke and Vaughn glared at each other for what seemed like hours before Vaughn tossed her fork and her napkin onto the table and stood up.

"I'm not hungry." She announced and walked away towards her bedroom.

Brooke closed her eyes, resting her head on her hands while the other people at the table resumed eating.

Beneath the table, Nathan reached over and rubbed her knee comfortingly to let her know she wasn't alone. She smiled weakly at him and then returned to eating her own food.

"May I be excused please? I'm done." Laney asked after a few minutes.

Half of her food was still on her plate but Brooke let her go. It was no use trying to force the girl to eat. Even she didn't want to eat at this point but she knew she had to.

"Tavian, what do you say you and I go play some basketball after breakfast huh?" Nathan asked his nephew, trying to lighten the mood a bit, "I bet you're getting good."

"Yeah, that'd be fun." Tavian nodded looking up to his mom, the light in his eyes shining bright, "Mom, is it ok?"

"Sure sweetie." Brooke was grateful that this whole fiasco wasn't affecting him too badly, "Finish your breakfast first though."

"I wanna go!" Saylor pouted, realizing she was being left out of a fun outing, "Please Uncle Nate!"

"Girls can't play basketball Saylor. Only Uncle Nate and me." Tavian told her, "You stay here with mom and paint your toenails or something."

"Let's see those toes." Brooke reached over and grabbed Saylor's toes pulling them around so she could see them and making Saylor laugh, "Yep, definitely need some nail polish. I think your brother's right. You need to stay here with me."

"But I like basketball…" Saylor argued, only half heartedly though, still giggling as Brooke played with her toes.

"I'll take you to play tomorrow. How does that sound?" Nathan offered.

"K!" Saylor happily agreed to that one and grinned at her mom, "K mommy? You and me and nail polish today. Me and Uncle Nate tomorrow."

"Ok." Brooke nodded her agreement and turned her youngest daughter back around to face the table, "Eat your breakfast though. Gotta get all your big girl nutrients."

"I'm done mom. Can I go get dressed now?" Tavian asked.

"Yep."

He raced off to his room and was soon followed by Saylor who stated she was going to go get all her 'big girl nail polish' from her bedroom.

Brooke and Nathan finished eating while they were gone.

"So it looks like your biggest problem is Vaughn." Nathan said quietly, just in case someone was listening in, "That was pretty bad."

"Yeah. Well… there's nothing I can really do. Scold her yes. And tell her what I told her today, but… she's hurting and I know she is. I don't want to push her farther away by punishing her. At least she's talking about it you know?"

Nathan nodded his understanding.

"Maybe tomorrow, I'll take Saylor and Tavian and then you and Laney and Vaughn can go do girl things. Talk a little. It might get them to open up to you honestly, instead of Vaughn lashing out at you."

"That's an idea." Brooke secretly wasn't thrilled because she was afraid of how horribly it could go, but she knew that she had to do something or she was quickly going to lose control of the situation.

"Do that and then Monday, while they are all at school, you and I are going to talk because I can see that this is killing you."

Nathan took her hand in his and she had to resist the urge to burst into tears again, something she had been doing a lot since her husband had made his announcement the day before.

"Alright Uncle Nate, let's go." Tavian returned with his basketball in his hands, ready to leave.

"Alright, let's go." Nathan stood from the table and so did Brooke.

She gathered plates while Nathan played with Tavian for a minute in the kitchen before they headed out.

"Alright buddy, go jump in the car. I'll be there in just a sec."

Tavian raced out of the house and Nathan turned to Brooke.

"We'll be gone for a few hours. Call me if you need me." He leaned down and kissed her cheek softly, "Don't let Vaughn get to you."

"Thanks Nate." Brooke smiled as she watched him leave.

For as long as she could remember, Nathan Scott had been the stability in her life. She and Lucas had always been spontaneous. They went to parties, and had sex in cars, drank. They never did the things that anyone expected them to do. But Nathan, he had always kept her grounded. He was always there when she needed him and he had come through big time for her with this situation. If he hadn't been there to talk to this morning, she probably would have gone crazy at breakfast.

"I could only find these." Saylor held out a basket full of nail polish to Brooke who laughed at the quantity her daughter seemed to think was lacking.

"Sweetie, you have more nail polish than Wal-Mart."

"This one's Laney's. Shh…" Saylor laughed as she held up a light pink polish and then placed it back in the basket, "Let's get started."

"Alright baby girl, let's get started."


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

"I hope that you don't think that taking us shopping is gonna solve all our problems because it's not." Vaughn pointed out as she, Laney, and Brooke strolled through the mall.

Brooke sighed and rolled her eyes. The entire day had been a mess. Family breakfast did not go well, again, for the second day in a row. Vaughn had been against the shopping trip from the start, but after a lot of convincing and maybe a threat or two, Brooke had gotten her to agree. Laney hadn't wanted to go either, but she caved when Vaughn did. Then when the time came to leave, Saylor suddenly developed a case of attachment issues and refused to let Brooke leave her side. Nathan stepped in and told her they were going to go play basketball while Brooke went shopping, but Saylor had been adamant that mommy could not leave her side. It was an extra half hour later that they finally convinced her mommy was coming back and it would all be ok.

The ride to the mall was deathly quiet. No one spoke until they arrived and Brooke asked the girls where they wanted to go first. Neither had an opinion so they went to the first department store Brooke spotted only then Vaughn complained that she wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything they sold so they left that department store and here they were. Strolling while Vaughn complained and Laney sulked. Brooke was tempted to turn around and go right back home.

"You guys need bathing suits for the summer? It's coming up quickly."

Laney shrugged. Vaughn grunted.

"Some input would be appreciated girls. Come on. A little effort is not going to kill you."

"I need a formal dress." Laney finally admitted, "There's an end of the school year dance coming up. I have a date. I need a dress."

"A dress?" Brooke grinned, "Formal dresses I'm good at. Come on, I know just the place."

Laney and Vaughn allowed themselves to be drug quickly to a formal shop across the mall where Brooke immediately began asking questions.

"What color would you like?"

"Um… Blue I guess." Laney looked at Vaughn who rolled her eyes.

"Vaughn, are you going?"

"Fat chance." Vaughn retorted, "I wouldn't go out with a guy that goes to that school if he were the last man on the earth."

"It's just a dance though Vaughn. It's not a life commitment." Brooke laughed.

"Nothing is a life commitment anymore, apparently, not even marriage." Vaughn retorted and Brooke immediately found herself saying nothing at all.

"How about this one Laney? You'll look like a princess." Brooke held up a very formal Cinderella style gown in light blue but Laney crinkled her nose.

"It's too fluffy."

Brooke looked over the dress and nodded. There was a lot of taffeta.

"Not too fluffy. Noted. Moving on."

Brooke continued to look around and was parted from the girls while they too looked. She thought she heard them laugh momentarily but she couldn't see them and all laughing ceased. Her heart hoped it was them laughing. She really wanted this shopping trip to help and it was going good, for the most part.

"I like this one." Laney held up a baby blue satin gown that flowed all the way to the floor even as Laney held it up. The top was strapless and form fitting while the skirt wasn't too 'fluffy' but had some flounce. There was even a rhinestone accented belt to highlight the waistline.

"Wow." Brooke managed to get out a single word and she sighed, "That's gorgeous baby doll. A little grown up for my fifteen year old daughter to wear to her first dance but… if you like it. Try it on."

Laney smiled momentarily and jogged toward the dressing room with the gown in her hands.

"Mom, are you gonna come wait outside so I can show you?"

"Absolutely." Brooke dragged Vaughn with her to sit by the dressing rooms.

Brooke was ecstatic that Laney was actually going to a dance. Even more ecstatic that they found a dress that she liked.

"Aren't you excited for your sister? That dress is gorgeous!" Brooke tried to engage Vaughn in the activity.

"Elated mom really. My face doesn't show it?" Vaughn replied monotonously, her face definitely not showing any signs of elation, "Really sorry, but I just can't seem to bring myself to be happy about a stupid dance and a stupid dress."

"Did a boy ask you?" Brooke ignored her daughters sarcastic comments and smiled, "Or are you bitter because a boy didn't ask?"

"I'm bitter because my gay father abandoned us. Do you really want to get into this here?" Vaughn snapped.

"Look." Laney came out of the dressing room grinning and gorgeous in the dress that fit her perfectly. It was long, too long, but that could be fixed with a little hemming and some stiletto heels.

"Wow, Lane… you look amazing?" Brooke gasped.

"Yeah?" Laney twirled for emphasis, "I really, really like it mom. Can I get it?"

"Absolutely. Take it off so we can pay."

"You're not even gonna ask her how much it costs?" Vaughn questioned as she and her mother stood back up.

"No, because it's perfect and I don't care how much it costs." Brooke began to search through her purse for an imaginary object, hoping that if she looked busy, her daughter would cease talking.

"What if it's a $400 dress and she only wears it once?"

"Then I'll save it for Saylor or… we'll find something else for her to wear it to."

"Like what? Dad's coming out party?"

"You really like those gay jokes don't you?" Brooke rolled her eyes and continued to search through her purse for the thing she didn't really need.

"I kinda do. It helps make it seem less real but that's beside the point. Dad just left so we obviously don't have his money to take care of us anymore. And you don't have a job, and we're not exactly rich, so how can you justify spending any amount of money on a dress she doesn't really need?"

"Credit cards Vaughn!" Brooke pulled her wallet out of her purse with a flurry and stared her daughter straight in the eye, "I'll pay for it with a credit card and then the $400 can come out of the money I don't have a little at a time. Vaughn, is that why you won't go to this dance? Because you don't think we have the money now that dad's gone?"

"I…" Vaughn was finally at a loss for words.

"We have the money Vaughn. We're not poor, we just don't flaunt the money like some do. If you want to go to this dance, please, pick a dress."

"I don't need to go." Vaughn mumbled.

"Do you WANT to go?" Brooke retorted, "I think you do."

"You don't know anything about me so don't assume you do!" Vaughn yelled suddenly and Brooke jumped, "Forget it. I don't want to go."

"Vaughn, listen to me." Brooke took her daughter's face between her hands and made her look directly into her eyes, "I'm not assuming anything. I understand that you're having a hard time right now and I only know that because I am too. I will not assume I know anything about you until you actually talk to me, but until that time, I will understand. Now if you want to go to the dance, pick out a dress and you will go. If you do not want to go, then don't. Either way, it's fine with me."

There was a moment of silence that passed between them before either of them spoke.

"I saw a pink one I liked." Vaughn uttered very quietly.

Brooke grinned and kissed her daughter's forehead very gently.

"Go get it and I'll wait by the dressing room while you try it on."

Hours later Brooke, Laney, and Vaughn burst into their house laughing and talking about the dance. The girls rushed in and went to hang their dresses up while Brooke set her purse down on the counter, still grinning from ear to ear at how their shopping trip had changed things.

"If I'm not mistaken, those were happy voices coming through here just minutes ago and… I think that's a smile on your face." Nathan teased Brooke as he entered the kitchen from the living room, "I think that I deserve a 'thank you Nate for suggesting shopping', don't you?"

"Thank you Nate for suggesting shopping." Brooke mocked him as she tried to repress her smile.

It wouldn't be repressed though and she continued to grin.

"It was… great. At first, they weren't happy but then Laney mentioned a dance that she wanted to go to so I took them formal dress shopping and Vaughn was of course being difficult. She made a bit of a scene but we settled it and I even convinced her to buy a dress too so that she can go to the dance. From then on, it was good. We bought necklaces to match their dresses. Shoes, and I set up hair and nail appointments for them while we ate lunch at my favorite restaurant. It was nice. I felt like I had my girls back."

"I'm really glad Brooke. And I don't wanna bring you down but uh… Lucas called while you were gone. He asked for you to call him back."

Brooke's smile fell and she sighed.

"Can you do me a favor and take the kids out to dinner then? I'd really rather them not be here while I talk to Lucas, just in case they overhear anything."

"I can do that." Nathan kissed her forehead like he always did and then returned to the living room while Brooke continued to hang her keys up and finish up her usual coming home routine.

"Hi mommy." Tavian strolled into the kitchen and hopped up into one of the kitchen table chairs, "You have fun?"

"Yes I did." Brooke turned and smiled at him, "Did you?"

"Yeah. We beat Uncle Nate twice. Saylor hurt her knee but Uncle Nate fixed it and then we came back here and Uncle Nate made us lunch and gave us ice cream."

"Ice Cream huh?" Brooke raised her eyebrows, "I guess just this once that's ok. Next time you know better. No ice cream 'til after dinner."

"I told Uncle Nate that, but he said it'd be ok and if it wasn't, he'd convince you."

"Oh really?" Brooke laughed and moved to scoop her son into her arms, "Let's go talk to Uncle Nate about that one."

"Uh oh!" Tavian giggled all the way to the living room, "Uncle Nate! You're in trouble!"

"What am I in trouble for?" Nathan asked from his seat on the couch.

Saylor was laying on his lap, watching a movie on the TV.

"You gave us ice cream."

"It was yummy." Saylor added without looking away from the screen.

"You gave them yummy ice cream before dinner. And just what do you have to say for yourself mister?" Brooke smiled as Nathan feigned innocence.

"I have no clue what you're talking about. These… children are delusional."

"What's delusional?" Tavian asked.

"Crazy." Brooke kissed his cheek, "Are you crazy?"

"No!" Tavian objected, "Uncle Nate! I am not crazy! You gave us ice cream!"

"I did no such thing."

"Lying is bad for your carmex." Tavian stated and both Brooke and Nathan were now staring at him like he was crazy.

"My what?" Nathan asked.

"Carmex. I don't know. Laney told me."

"Karma." Laney sighed as she entered the living room and sat down in a chair, Vaughn following and sitting on her lap, "It's bad for your Karma Tavian. Not your Carmex. Carmex is chapstick."

"Oh." Tavian blushed and buried his head in his mom's side.

"I did give them ice cream." Nathan finally admitted "But… since I am taking them out to dinner, that's my problem."

"True enough." Brooke smiled and reached down to play with Tavian's hair, "You're all ok with that? Uncle Nathan taking you out to dinner?"

"What are you gonna do?" Vaughn asked.

"I… need to call your dad." Brooke admitted. She didn't want to lie to them and that was what she'd be doing.

"Tell him he sucks for me." Vaughn rolled her eyes and stood, "I'll be in my room. Call me when we're leaving."

"Yeah, give him my hatred too." Laney added and then followed her sister.

Brooke and Nathan exchanged looks that said it all and they sighed simultaneously.

"Why do Laney and Vaughn hate daddy?" Saylor asked, prying her eyes away from the TV screen finally.

"Because daddy left." Brooke said simply.

"But he's comin' back right?" Saylor frowned as she waited for her answer.

Brooke wasn't sure what to say to that. In her heart of hearts, she knew Lucas had no intention of returning. But she couldn't say that to Saylor, because that would break Saylor's heart.

"Say… Daddy loves you more than anything in the world baby, but right now he can't live here with us and maybe he might not be able to ever."

"Why can't he live here with us?" Tavian questioned.

Suddenly Brooke was being faced with both of her younger children's questions and she had no clue what to say.

Nathan watched Brooke grappling for answers and he knew she wasn't coming up with anything. He saw the panic in her eyes and without thinking, he began to talk for her.

"Sometimes, when mommy's or daddy's feel… differently then they did before, they have to leave the people they love the most to figure out what they need. And right now, your daddy needs to figure out what he needs. And although he loves you and wants to be with you, he just can't right now."

Brooke mouthed a silent thank you at him and hugged Tavian close to her chest.

"And until you can see your daddy again, mommy and Uncle Nate will always be here for you ok?"

Nathan pulled Saylor up into his arms and hugged her like Brooke was Tavian.

Both young children sighed but accepted the explanation they'd been given.

"Uncle Nate? Can we have more ice cream after dinner?" Tavian asked, breaking the silence after their intense conversation.

Brooke laughed while Nathan just rolled his eyes.

"Don't tell your mom but I was planning on giving you cake instead. How does that sound?"

Tavian and Saylor started giggling happily as Brooke's mouth dropped open.

"Nathan!" She shrieked, "No cake!"

"Pudding?" Nathan asked innocently.

"No."

"Cookies?"

"No."

"What about candy?"

"Nathan Scott, if you give my children any more sweets, you are so staying the night so that you can deal with them jumping off the walls all night long."

"Stay Uncle Nate!" Tavian yelled, "Then we can have candy!"

Nathan began to laugh.

"Stay. Stay. Stay. Stay." Tavian and Saylor chanted.

"Ok, ok." Nathan caved easily, "I'll stay on one condition."

"Anything." Tavian readily agreed.

"We all have to stay up late and watch movies together."

"They can't. They have a bed time Nate." Brooke argued.

"Then they'll go to bed and you and I will stay up late. Movie night? You have to admit it sounds good."

"It won't after I talk to Lucas." Brooke mumbled but thankfully no one picked up on her actual words.

"Please mommy!" Tavian begged.

"Fine whatever, but then you guys need to go to dinner now so that I can call daddy and be done by the time you come home so we can watch movies."

Nathan tickled Saylor in celebration and Tavian jumped up off the couch, desperately trying to pull his uncle and sister off the couch with him.

"Come on let's go. Hurry."

Brooke laughed at them the entire time they were getting ready as Nathan was being a complete goofball, which even made Vaughn and Laney laugh when they came out from their rooms. The house being full of laughter and smiles made the silence that followed that much more deafening. Just in an effort to get the ball rolling, she immediately picked up the phone.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

The phone rang three times before he answered.

"Lucas Scott."

Brooke's voice caught in her throat and she hesitated to speak.

"Brooke…"

She sighed.

"How'd you know it was me?"

"Caller ID. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know." She shrugged and sank into the couch, "I didn't know what to say."

"Hi would have been a good start."

"Are we gonna fight Lucas or is this going to be a productive conversation?" Brooke was beginning to get agitated.

"I'm sorry." Lucas sighed, "How are you? How are the kids?"

"Same as yesterday for the most part. I got Laney and Vaughn to shop and that helped a little. We talked. Saylor and Tavian are asking more questions. The whole thing confuses them."

"What'd they ask?"

"The most popular question is 'when is daddy coming home?' but they seem to be understanding a bit better that you're not."

"I never said I wasn't coming home." Lucas snapped, "Why would you tell them that?"

"Face it Lucas. Even if you did come back, it would no longer be home. You're gay. That changes everything."

"It doesn't have to. We're still a family Brooke and I don't want my kids thinking I abandoned them."

"But you did! You left them and you left me. We are not a family anymore, not in the real sense of the word."

"How can you say that? We're married. We love our kids. That's a family Brooke."

Brooke's mind was reeling already and they'd barely been on the phone a couple minutes. Lucas was making no sense.

"So let me get this straight. You want to be married and you want to be a family but you also want to be gay. Explain to me how you think that's gonna work."

"I don't know! I can't lose you guys though."

Brooke wanted to scream at him and her mind wanted to begin freaking out, but she managed to keep her cool and speak calmly.

"Sounds to me like you're confused Lucas. So when you figure yourself out, you let me know. Until then, I am going to continue taking care of my children the best way I know how."

"That's not fair Brooke. I deserve to have a say in their lives. A say in what they're told about our situation. You can't just decide you're gonna tell them something without letting me know."

"You just decided you were gonna leave and you sure as hell didn't let me know before you did it. I am going to tell them what I see as the truth and if you want to contend with that, then you can bring your ass home and deal with it."

"Why are you so pissed off?"

Brooke grew quiet. There were so many answers to that question. None of those answers would please her husband, but at this point, she was growing angrier by the second. He pissed her off with his nonchalant attitude about all of this. How could he think that he could decide he's gay, leave her and their kids, and then just act like everything's the same?

"Why am I pissed off Lucas? I'm pissed off because in the last three days, I've lost every semblance of normal that I knew. My kids are upset and I hate it when my kids are upset. They're confused and… Laney and Vaughn are at an age where they should be more worried about what boy they want to go to the spring dance with then whether their dad is going to come home or not. They shouldn't have to be worrying about your sexuality. They should be dealing with their own! I'm pissed off because you think that all of this is just going to fall into place. You act like nothing's changed when everything has! I love you! I love being married to you and I love everything about you… and now, I can't have you, because you're gay Luke. You like guys and… I'm not gonna try to change that if that's the way you feel, but you need to realize that it hurts us. Me, the kids… even Nathan. We're all affected and nothing is ever going to be the same. That is why I'm pissed off."

Her rant was met with silence on the other end of the line and for a second, Brooke thought he had hung up on her.

Then she heard him breathe. A slow intake and release whispering it's way through the receiver.

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

Brooke sighed.

"I wish I could say it was ok Lucas, but I don't know if it's going to be. It's still very new."

"What should we do? Where do we go from here?"

"You're positive you're gay?"

"Yes."

"You're not gonna change your mind?"

"No."

"Then we get a divorce. It's the only rational thing to do."

She was met with silence again.

"Luke?"

"I wish it was all different. I tried so hard not to be gay."

She believed that. She could feel the honesty in his voice, even through the phone.

"I know honey."

"I'll have one of my colleagues draw up the papers tomorrow then?"

She nodded and then realized he couldn't see her.

"That's fine. Send them over when they're done."

"I do love you."

"I know." Brooke sighed, "I love you too."

After she hung up the phone, she felt spent. Emotionally, she had nothing left to give. She was 37 years old, a stay at home mother of four, and she was about to be divorced. This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out.

Marrying Lucas at 22 had been a no-brainer. They'd been dating for eight years already. They had lived together for three of those years, ever since their sophomore year of college. She had graduated with her degree in Sociology and he was set to go on to Law School. Since they had been engaged since high school, their wedding was planned to happen as soon as he was done with law school. And then she'd found out she was pregnant. Wedding plans were pushed forward and they'd married before she was even showing. And it had worked just fine. She gave birth to the twins. He went to law school and his dad paid for everything they needed until he was done. They were happy. He got a great job at a great firm and he'd been there ever since, making partner by the time he was 30.

She couldn't remember a time that Lucas Scott wasn't in her life. Since she was five, Lucas and Nathan had been there. And now, Lucas was gone.

"Mommy?"

Brooke snapped to attention and realized Saylor was sitting next to her on the couch, staring intently at her. The small girl reached up and wiped a tear from Brooke's face. A tear Brooke hadn't even realized she'd shed.

"How come you're crying mommy?"

Brooke looked around and saw that her other three children stood close-by with Nathan, looking on quietly.

"Sorry baby. Mommy was just thinking about something sad. Um… how was dinner guys?"

"Dinner was great." Nathan tried to lighten the mood immediately, ushering the kids into the living room.

They all sat down, Nathan sending a reassuring smile over to Brooke.

"We had really good food. Really, really good dessert. Saylor started a food fight and we got kicked out of the restaurant."

"What?" Brooke looked over at Saylor who smiled bashfully at her mom.

"It was an accident." She sighed, "My fork was in the mashded potatoes and when I put my arm down, it hit it, and the fork went flying across the room."

Brooke watched Saylor tell the story animatedly and she had to resist the urge not to laugh. After all, they had been thrown out of the restaurant and that wasn't a good thing.

"So everyone started throwin' stuff and the lady with a frown on her face told us we had to leave." Saylor sighed, "I didn't mean to mommy."

"Oh, I know baby." Brooke smiled and pulled Saylor into her lap, "You're ready for bed now though right?"

"Not yet mommy. Just one movie, please." Tavian begged.

"I'm going to bed." Vaughn said simply as she stood, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Alright sweetie. Sleep well."

Vaughn nodded as she kissed her mother's cheek and then headed down to her room.

"Laney, how bout you babe? Bed, or you gonna stay up for a while?"

"I have a little bit of homework to finish. I'll see you in the morning." Laney sighed as she too stood and kissed her mother's cheek, "Night Uncle Nate. Night Say. Night Tavian."

"Night Laney." Everyone chorused.

"Alright you two, Tavian? Is your homework done?" Brooke asked.

Tavian cringed.

"I have two pages left."

"No movie then. Go get your packet so we can work on it."

"But mom…"

"Nope. Move it. Homework time."

"I'll help him with it." Nathan volunteered as he stood with Tavian, "You and Saylor watch a movie."

Saylor grinned at Brooke who couldn't resist.

"Thanks Nate."

It wasn't even an hour later, only halfway through the movie, and Saylor was fast asleep in Brooke's arms. Nathan returned from Tavian's room and announced that Tavian too was fast asleep after completing his homework and the lights were out in both Laney and Vaughn's room too.

Nathan picked up Saylor from Brooke's arms and carried her down the hall to her bedroom, returning to sit down on the couch next to Brooke and pull her into a friendly embrace.

"What'd Lucas say?" He asked, cutting straight to the chase.

Brooke sighed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Lucas is confused. He says he's gay, but he doesn't want to lose me or the kids and so he's struggling. It was a short but difficult conversation to have. We decided to get a divorce."

"Just like that?" Nathan was surprised. He hadn't expected Brooke to give up on her marriage that easily.

Brooke sat up and looked at him while she spoke.

"Well what else am I supposed to do. Lucas likes men. I can't compete with that. I mean… if it was another woman, I have no doubt given a choice, he'd pick me in the end. But men? There are vital parts missing in that scenario."

"So divorce…"

"He's having one of his colleagues draw up the papers tomorrow."

"Custody of the kids?"

"Didn't ask but they won't be going to St. Louis, that's for sure. If he wants to see them, he's gonna have to come here. On that point, I will not budge."

Nathan nodded.

"And the house? I assume you're keeping it."

"He's not using it. I think I should get to keep it."

"Alimony? Child support?"

"I don't know!" Brooke snapped and immediately she regretted it, "I'm sorry Nathan. I'm just… it was a rough conversation. We didn't discuss specifics. We just agreed to divorce. That's all."

"I'll quit asking questions. I'm sorry." Nathan ran his fingers through her hair and she laid her head back on his shoulder.

They were quiet for a few minutes, sitting there and taking in the night. The Care Bears were still on the TV screen, jumping happily all over the screen. It was a bright contrast to the mood in the room.

"I should get home. I have to work in the morning." Nathan broke their reverie and waited while Brooke sat up.

"I thought you were staying the night." Brooke frowned at him, stretching sleepily.

"Nah. The kids are asleep already. You don't need me to take care of them while they jump off the walls."

She shrugged.

"True enough."

There was another moment or two of silence and then she smiled.

"Thanks for being here Nate. You've made this first weekend without him a lot easier."

"You're welcome." He leaned over and for a second, Brooke thought he was going to kiss her, but instead, she felt his lips connect lightly with her cheek, "Sleep well."

"You too." She mumbled as he stood up and headed for the back door.

"Goodnight."

The door closed softly behind him and she watched through the front window while he drove away into the night.

As she turned off all the lights and the television, her mind wandered to the moment when she thought Nathan might kiss her. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn she had wanted him to do it. But that wasn't possible. She and Nathan were just friends.


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

"Come on guys! We're gonna be late!" Brooke yelled to her children.

The clock read 7:05. They should have left five minutes ago. Vaughn and Laney mumbled and groaned as they trudged into the kitchen, their backpacks dragging behind them.

"Orange juice and toast on the counter. Vaughn, dance rehearsal after school today?"

"Yep." Vaughn nodded and downed her orange juice in one gulp, setting the cup back on the counter and taking a hearty bite of her toast.

"Laney you have piano?"

"As always." Laney sipped her orange juice and the two girls just stood there staring at her.

"Right. Tavian! Saylor! Move it children!"

Tavian came running into the kitchen and stopped dead in front of his mother.

"Saylor says she's not going." He announced.

Brooke groaned, looking around the kitchen. Laney and Vaughn shrugged.

"Laney start the car please. Keys are on the wall. Vaughn, get your brother in the car please. I'll get Saylor."

Brooke went down the hallway towards her youngest daughter's room and stopped in the doorway when she found Saylor sitting on her bed and swinging her feet aimlessly.

"Hey baby girl, what are you doing?" Brooke asked, taking one step inside the room, "Your sisters are gonna be late for school if we don't get going."

"I don't wanna go." Saylor mumbled.

"You love going to pre-school. Why don't you wanna go?"

"Cause."

"'Cause why?" Brooke moved further into the room and sat on the small bed next to Saylor.

"You won't come back."

"What?"

That answer really confused Brooke. She had never once even been late to pick Saylor up, let alone forget her there. So why the sudden separation anxiety on the three year olds end?

"Say? I've never left you at pre-school before. I wouldn't start today, but we gotta get going. Come on."

"You won't come back." Saylor said simply again, looking up at Brooke with a very sad look in her eyes, "Daddy didn't."

Sudden realization hit Brooke and she immediately felt tears well up in her eyes. She pulled Saylor into her lap and hugged her tightly.

"That's what this is about… Daddy dropped you off Friday and when you came home, he was gone. Now you think I'll do the same thing."

"I don't want you to go too Mommy."

"Saylor, Mommy will never ever do that to you. I will never leave you."

"I don't wanna go Mommy."

"Ok Say, I tell you what. We have to go now or else Laney and Vaughn are gonna be late. Then Tavian has to be dropped off and after that, you and I will spend the day together, just the two of us. Does that sound good? I won't make you go to pre-school today."

Saylor's eyes brightened just a little bit and she nodded.

"Alright then, come on." Brooke stood with Saylor in her arms and they headed out of the house together, just quickly grabbing a cup of orange juice off the counter for Saylor and Brooke's travel mug of coffee.

They reached the car, strapped Saylor into her car-seat and Brooke sped out of the driveway.

"Hey Say… what happened? How come you don't wanna go to school today?" Laney asked her little sister as they drove.

Saylor just frowned and shook her head, which in toddler code meant that she didn't want to talk about it.

"It's a D-A-D-D-Y issue." Brooke spelled out.

"Oh." Laney nodded her understanding and leaned over, placing a quick kiss on Saylor's cheek, "Love you Say."

Saylor grinned.

"Love you too."

For the most part, the quick five minute drive to the high school was quiet, allowing Brooke to think. She had planned to take the day and figure out the specifics of her divorce. Who would get the house and the cars? Alimony? Child Support? Custody? But if she was spending the day with Saylor, then her plans would have to change.

"Have a good day girls!" Brooke called out to the twins as they jumped out of the SUV and rushed into the school to avoid being late.

She hurried out of one parking lot and headed down the road towards Tavian's school. Dropping him off wasn't as simple. Even though he was in the first grade now, she still liked to walk him to class and today, under the circumstances the family was in, she thought she should talk to the teacher and warn her that Tavian may have difficulty dealing.

"Alright kids, let's go." Brooke got out of her seat and opened the back door.

Tavian jumped out while Brooke unhooked Saylor and the three of them headed down the school hallway towards Tavian's classroom. They still had a few minutes to spare which meant that Brooke had time.

"Good morning Brooke." Mrs. Valero, Tavian's teacher, greeted her.

"Good morning."

Tavian immediately ran off and found some of his friends to play with for the last few minutes before class. Saylor was clinging to Brooke though, which could make things difficult.

"Hey Say, why don't you go look at one of the books over there huh?"

That excited her and she ran off to do that while Brooke sighed, watching her carefully.

"Everything ok?" Mrs. Valero asked.

"Well… I thought I should warn you that um… well I'm not sure how Tavian's gonna do today or what he'll say. I'd kinda like to keep this under wraps as much as possible, but being his teacher, you should know that there's things going on at home that may cause him to act up or act out in some way. Lucas left Friday. He moved to St. Louis without any warning or even a goodbye, so the kids are taking it pretty hard. He's been ok this weekend, but I don't know if he's gonna talk about it or what. I thought Saylor was ok but then this morning she suddenly refused to go to pre-school so…"

"Wow Brooke, I'm so sorry. I'll keep an eye on Tavian. Is there anything else I can do?"

Brooke smiled weakly.

"Thanks, but no. Just be warned that if he does act up, I'd rather you just called me and I'll come get him than punish him."

"Absolutely. If you don't mind me asking… were you and Lucas having problems? Last time I saw you two together you seemed great."

"He's gay." Brooke admitted simply.

Mrs. Valero's mouth fell open just as the school bell rang signaling the start of the school day.

"Yeah, exactly." Brooke had expected that kind of reaction, "Saylor! Come on baby!"

Saylor closed the book she had been looking at and put it away before running back to her mom and jumping into her arms.

Brooke snuggled her and kissed her forehead then smiled at Mrs. Valero who was still in shock.

"It'll probably take you all day to digest that. I'm still getting used to it myself." Brooke laughed, "Thanks for keeping an eye on Tavian."

"Oh um… sure thing. Good luck."

"Thanks."

Brooke and Saylor said goodbye to Tavian and then exited the classroom, heading back to their car.

"I'm hungry." Saylor announced as they began to drive again.

"Me too. Denny's or IHOP?"

"Umm…" Saylor thought seriously over her choices and then grinned, "IHOP."

"Sounds good my love. IHOP it is."


	8. Chapter Seven

**_A/N: I am such an idiot. I thought that I had posted this chapter a long time ago and I didn't, so here it is now. Thanks to all who've been so great with their reviews. Hope you enjoy this update._**

**Chapter Seven**

"So where's Saylor now?"

Brooke fell into the couch and turned on the TV at the same time, cradling the phone against her ear as she sighed.

"She's napping."

"Every bone in my body wants to kill my brother right now. Is that wrong?"

"I'd almost be with you, but you and I being in jail… probably not such a good idea if we want to keep the kids happy."

Nathan semi-laughed.

"That's true. Listen, I was thinking..."

"That's never a good thing." Brooke idly flipped through the channels while Nathan talked.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up. I was thinking, and I thought that maybe talking to someone about all of this, maybe getting some advice, would be a good idea."

"Duh Nate. Why do you think I call you?"

"I thought you called me cause you love hearing my voice." Nathan joked.

"Sadly no, I call you because you're cheaper than a shrink."

"Ouch." Nathan feigned hurt but laughed, "Well, just as cheap as me, but far better at giving advice… my mom."

"You want me to call your mom?"

"Yes."

"Lucas probably doesn't want her to know Nathan. At least not yet. I can't do that."

"When Lucas abandoned his family to be gay in St. Louis he forfeited all ability to dictate who knows and who doesn't. Bottom line, my mom loves you. She would want to help you right now."

"I can't Nathan." Brooke insisted, "I can't go to your mom with this. It just feels wrong and besides, what's she gonna know about losing your husband to men?"

"Nothing because when she and my dad divorced it definitely wasn't because he was gay, but still, she's all knowing. She'll know how to help."

"I love your mom Nate, but no." Brooke wasn't budging on this issue. It wasn't her place to tell a mother her son was gay. If this kind of thing was happening to one of her own children, then she'd want that child to tell her, not the soon to be ex wife of her child. It just wasn't right for her to be the one to break it to Karen.

"I figured you were going to say no." Nathan sighed into his end of the phone, "Which is why I've already called her."

"What? Nathan!"

"She doesn't know about Lucas yet. I just told her you were going through some rough times and you could use some motherly advice. She should be…"

The doorbell at Brooke's house rang and Brooke's eyes went wide.

"Right on time."

She could hear Nathan's grin on the other end of the telephone and she wished she were there, to slap it right off of him.

"You're dead Nathan Scott. I'll call you later."

She hung up on him and hurried to the front door before the bell could be chimed again. If she had any luck at all, Saylor will have slept through the first one.

"Karen!" Brooke smiled widely as she threw the door open to her mother in law, "You didn't have to come."

"When Nathan told me that you and Lucas were having problems I knew I had to come. Sweetheart, what's going on? You two were so happy last time I saw you."

"I know…" Brooke ushered Karen into the house and closed the door behind her.

With a guest present, the house's state of dishevelment was bathed in a whole new light. She could just imagine what Karen was seeing. It was a mess. Kids things were strewn everywhere. Toys all over the floor. She herself had changed back into her pajama's when she came home with Saylor and now, she was sure she looked as if she'd only just rolled out of bed.

"Nathan made it sound serious. First, just tell me, is everyone ok?"

Brooke made a motion of picking a few things up and throwing them into one large pile instead of several small ones while she attempted to speak.

"We're all fine. Just a rough patch really. I mean… this isn't really something I should tell you honestly. You should be talking to Lucas."

Karen grabbed Brooke's hands so that she couldn't continue to clean up and she led her to sit down on the couch.

"Brooke, just tell me what's going on. Your well being is just as important to me as my sons and right now, I think you need me more."

The honesty and caring she saw in Karen's eyes burned deep into Brooke's heart. She tried to hold back but it all hit her at once. The immensity of everything. Lucas's confession. His departure. Vaughn's anger. Laney's withdrawal. Tavian's confusion and Saylor's feelings of abandonment. She broke down into tears and immediately found herself being cradled in Karen's arms.

"He's gay." She cried steadily, "Lucas says he's gay and he left. He moved to St. Louis. Didn't even tell us except for a couple of notes for the kids and now it's all messed up. We're getting a divorce. Vaughn is angry. Laney won't talk about it. Tavian is so confused. He doesn't really know what's going on except that his dad is gone and may not come back. Saylor refused to go to pre-school this morning because she said that Friday, daddy dropped her off and never came back and if I take her and drop her off, what if I don't come back? I don't know what to do or how to talk to them. I don't even know how to deal with this myself and I'm rambling, I'm sorry. You just found out your oldest son is gay and I can't shut up… Karen?"

Her mother in law was staring at her as if she had just grown an extra eye in her forehead.

"I'm sorry he hurt you." Were the first words from Karen's mouth, "I am so sorry."

"Oh no… don't be sorry. It's not your fault." Brooke wiped away her tears and frowned, "Are you ok? I… I told Nathan that I thought Lucas should be the one to tell you but he called you and told you to come over here without me knowing."

"I'm glad you were the one. I… I'm just a little shocked I guess. I'm sorry Brooke. I'm supposed to be helping you and here I am sitting here like an idiot with my mouth hanging open."

"No, no. It's understandable. You're doing better than I did when I found out. I just got angry."

"It's just… it's one thing if he's gay. Fine. It's a life choice or… destiny or whatever theory the world is going with today, but I did not raise my son to abandon his family."

"In his defense, he went to St. Louis for a job." Brooke sighed, "He's opening a new practice for his firm there."

"Don't defend him. You don't need to. Job or no job, he left without a word, that's abandonment in my book." Karen said it as if it were final so Brooke let it be, "I can't imagine how you're staying as sane as you are."

Brooke kind of laughed.

"Sane? Didn't you just witness my breakdown?"

Karen smiled.

"I'm guessing that's really the first time you've cried."

"First time in the presence of another human being."

"Mommy?" Saylor entered the living room from the hallway rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Hey baby…" Brooke held out her arms, "Come here. Come see Grandma Karen."

Saylor walked over to her mother and allowed herself to be pulled into her lap, laying her head onto Brooke's shoulder and sticking her thumb into her mouth.

"Hi Grandma." She mumbled around her finger in her mouth.

"Hi." Karen grinned and reached over to rub her granddaughter's back, "You have a good nap?"

Saylor nodded but said nothing more.

There was a peaceful silence surrounding the three of them. Brooke felt better having let some of her emotions free and Karen was still processing it all. Words weren't needed so they just sat there for awhile.

"Is it lunch time?" Saylor finally asked, minutes later.

Brooke looked at the clock. 12:30.

"I suppose it is. What would you like?"

"I can make us all sandwiches. You two just sit back and relax." Karen volunteered.

Brooke and Saylor looked at each other wide eyed.

"We like when Grandma cooks don't we?" Brooke asked Saylor who nodded vigorously.

"She makes yummy stuff."

"Wanna go watch?"

"Yeah!"

All three of them headed into the kitchen where Brooke and Saylor sat down at the table while Karen fished through the refrigerator. All the makings of great sandwiches were there and she pulled them all out, setting them on the counter.

"Who knew so much stuff went into a sandwich." Brooke hugged Saylor tight to her chest and laughed, "Ours are bread, mayonnaise, and meat."

Karen just laughed.

"There is so much more to it than that. I should know. The café's taught me well."

"That it has. How is the café anyway? You and Deb still running it together?"

Deb was Nathan and Lucas's step-mother. The woman who had married their father when their parents had gotten divorced.

"Yeah. She's running it today so that I could come see you. We're doing great. Business has never been better. I could use less of running into D-A-N but I guess if Deb loves him…"

"What's D-A-N?" Saylor asked.

Brooke smiled. It was nice to still be able to spell things that you didn't want her to know about because she was still so young.

"It's a type of dog honey." Brooke stroked the little girls hair, smiling and winking at Karen who laughed.

"Speaking of dogs, Andy brought home a stray about a month ago. Very cute little thing, some sort of terrier. Probably part Yorkshire. Anyway, turns out, she was pregnant, so she had puppies last week and I thought that maybe… if you'd like to bring the kids over to see them, you all might like one when they're old enough."

"I want a puppy!" Saylor exclaimed happily, "Please mommy!"

"Probably should have spelled that out instead of just speaking." Karen cringed as she looked up from assembling sandwiches, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's ok." Brooke laughed, "A puppy might be nice. Small dog you said?"

"Yeah. You've seen Yorkshire Terriers right?"

"I think so." Brooke shrugged.  
"Well, she's definitely part that. I mean, she fits in my hand, she's actually that tiny and the puppies aren't very big, but we don't know for sure what kind of dog they are. Mixed I'm sure since she was a stray."

"I will try to bring the kids over to see the puppies and then we'll decide."

"Good." Karen grinned, "Saylor, do you like tomatoes?"

"Yuck."

"I second that yuck." Brooke spoke up.

"Are you serious?" Karen frowned at Brooke, "When you were pregnant with Tavian, tomatoes were pretty much the only thing you would eat!"

"Yeah… which is probably why I can't stand them now. He loves them though. Only six year old I know who does."

Karen sighed.

"Ok, two with no tomatoes. Lettuce children?"

Brooke laughed.

"Saylor no. Me yes."

"Ok. I'm assuming you like everything else. Cheese, turkey, bread…"

"Yes, yes, and yes." Brooke nodded her head in agreement to all.

"Alright. Lunch is served girls." Karen brought over three plates to the table and set them out accordingly.

Saylor moved into her own chair and began to dig into her sandwich. Brooke took a bite of hers then stopped, waiting instead for Karen who was finding clean glasses and pouring the three of them Kool-Aid from the refrigerator.

"Meal complete." Karen finally took a seat after adding a straw to Saylor's cup and the three of them ate together.

"So what is actually in this sandwich?" Brooke asked when she was almost finished, "Because it's awesome and I need to know how to recreate it."

"Turkey, lettuce, cheddar cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, mustard, and tomato… on mine only."

"Who would have thought to put cream cheese in a sandwich…" Brooke pondered for a moment then took another bite with a grin, "It's delicious."

"It's a favorite at the café."

"Can I have more Kool-Aid please?" Saylor asked, mouth half full.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, but yes." Brooke stood and took Saylor's cup with her to the refrigerator, pouring half a glass more of juice.

"Thank you."

"So what else is on the agenda for today?" Karen asked, "I'm assuming my other grandchildren get out of school at some point?"

"Laney and Vaughn get out at 2:15 but Vaughn has dance rehearsal until 5. Tavian gets out at 3:15. Laney has piano lessons at 3:30 and then Tavian gets dropped off for soccer at 4:00. Pick Laney up at 4:30, Vaughn up at 5 and then Tavian at 6 when we will return home for dinner and then homework. Tavian usually finishes homework around 7:30 so he's allowed to watch TV until 8. Then he goes to bed as does Ms. Saylor here. Laney and Vaughn are allowed to be up until 10, so IF they finish their homework, it's their choice what they do until 10. Sometimes we stray from that beaten path, but for the most part… that's a normal day."

"Sounds very… structured. How about today we pick all the kids up by 6 and then take them out for dinner and dessert so that I can spend some time with them?"

"That sounds great but they've been eating out all weekend. I can just fix everyone dinner here."

"Better yet, we'll drive to my house and the kids can play with the puppies while I cook dinner and you can relax."

"Really, that's not necessary." Brooke objected, "You're more than welcome to stay for dinner here. I was gonna cook Tacos. And they can see the puppies this weekend when I promise I will bring them over."

"Brooke…"

Brooke sighed when she heard the tone in Karen's voice.

"I know, I know. You're gonna win this one no matter how much I object so I'll just ask, what are our plans for dinner?"

Karen smiled.

"I'll go with my first idea. We'll all go out. That way I get to spend time with you all tonight and this weekend when you bring them over."

"Yay!" Saylor rejoiced.

Brooke had to laugh.

"Alright, sounds perfect."

"I'm gonna go play. Is that ok mommy?"

Brooke nodded and Saylor took off to her bedroom leaving the two older women alone once again.

"Never ceases to amaze me how manipulatable I am." Brooke sighed, "I just mold to whatever everyone else is doing or planning."

"You were always my favorite daughter, biological or in-law."

"I'm your only daughter, biological or in-law."

"Yes well…" Karen laughed, "Just because you and my son are getting a divorce, doesn't mean that's going to change. You are forever part of this family now, understand?"

"Thank you Karen. For everything. Coming in here and letting me vent. Taking everything in stride the way you did. You're amazing and I look up to you so much."

"Thank Nathan. He told me I needed to come."


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

It had been a week since Brooke had talked to Karen, and she had to admit, every day seemed to get just a little bit easier. Vaughn had stopped being as difficult. Saylor had returned to preschool. Tavian still asked questions every now and then, but she fielded them like a pro now. Her only worry was that Laney still would not talk about it.

As promised, Brooke had taken the kids to visit Grandma Karen and Grandpa Andy where they had all fallen in love with the puppies. It had taken all day but finally the kids had been able to agree on just one. They still had yet to decide on a name.

"But I like the name Butch!" Tavian whined as the kids all filed into the house after school.

"That's ugly. I still say we name him Newton." Laney argued.

"Newton? You can definitely come up with something better than that." Vaughn rolled her eyes, "I'm with Saylor. I like the name puppy. It's so simple."

"You do not name a puppy 'Puppy'. That's just not right." Brooke closed the door behind herself and dropped her purse onto the counter, "We will think of something later. Go get started on your homework while I figure something out for dinner. Saylor, you have one hour of TV time starting now."

It was quiet for about 30 minutes until she called all of them in for dinner. It was all set out on the table. Chicken nuggets, french fries, corn, and salad.

"What about killer? He's little so it'd be completely ridiculous." Vaughn suggested.

"No." Brooke vetoed, "Last thing I need is for your brother or sister to go to school and tell people they have a killer at their house. Not gonna happen."

They all continued to think while they ate and then suddenly Saylor snapped her head to attention and she screamed "NUGGET!"

They all looked at her, confusion written across their features but she just grinned.

"Like a chicken nugget. Name him Nugget." Saylor explained, "Please mommy?"

Brooke laughed and looked around the table for objections.

"It might work guys. It's cute."

Vaughn just shook her head.

"I can't believe the rugrat came up with the perfect name."

Laney laughed.

"It is perfect. Our little Nugget."

"I like it." Tavian agreed.

"Then Nugget it is." Brooke leaned over and kissed Saylor's cheek with a loud smacking kiss, "Very good baby girl. You named the puppy."

They were all discussing things they wanted to do with the puppy even 30 minutes later as they continued to eat when the phone rang.

"I'll get it." Vaughn jumped out of her seat and grabbed the cordless phone off the wall, "Hello?"

"Vaughn?"

Vaughn hesitated as she recognized the voice and then sighed.

"Hi dad."

All eyes in the room turned to her.

"Hey sweetie, how are you?"

"Great as I can be considering… can I help you with something?" She brushed him off quickly and easily. She may have been doing better at home, but she was definitely still mad at her father.

"I need to talk to your mom. Is she around?"

"Yeah. Mom?" Vaughn handed the cordless phone to Brooke and sighed, "It's my father."

"Hey Lucas." Brooke stood from the table with the phone and motioned to the kids to keep eating while she went into the other room, "What can I do for you?"

"I uh… wow, I called to talk to you but that really threw me off. Is she still that mad at me?"

"It's barely been a week Luke. What do you expect?"

"I didn't expect that. I just… wow. She hates me."

"She does not hate you." Brooke groaned. She hated trying to console him. She shouldn't have to make him feel better about what he did. He had left. She was hurting. He sucked. In all scenarios, she had every right to hate him and let him feel like crap for everything he'd done, "She's getting better. Now was there a reason you called? Cause we were in the middle of dinner."

"Yeah, sorry." Lucas took a deep breath, "I have the papers."

"What papers?"

"The divorce papers… We did have that conversation didn't we?"

"Yes. Yeah. Sorry." Brooke sighed, "I forgot. Sorry. You have the papers. What about them? I thought you were sending them over when they were ready."

"I just wanted to make sure that what Alex and I came up with would be ok with you."

"Alex and I?" A slight tone of skepticism crept into her tone.

"We work together Brooke."

"Didn't realize you worked so closely together Lucas. First name basis?"

"Brooke, cut the shit. We are strictly colleagues and he helped me with the divorce papers. Do you want to hear this or not?"

"Yeah. Tell me." Brooke sat back and waited to hear what he'd come up with.

"Alright, since I left you, you legally have rights to everything. The house and everything in it. The cars… it's all yours. Our joint bank account will be split in half. You'll keep everything that's in your personal account. I'll keep everything that's in mine. Since you'll have the kids most of the time, I'll pay you child support. We figured a fair amount would be $800 a month. I'll also pay you alimony, an extra $200 a month which means I'd be giving you $1000 a month."

"Sounds fair but what do you mean I'll have the kids MOST of the time?"

"During the summer I thought they could spend a month here with me. And when they have school holidays they could come here except Christmas, cause I know how much Christmas means to you but I'd want them for New Years."

"No." Brooke said simply.

"No?" Lucas frowned, "What do you mean no? That's a fair arrangement."

"They're not going to St. Louis. It's not gonna happen."

"Brooke…"

"Do not Brooke me. I'm not budging on this issue. You left us, and because of that, you forfeit all rights to your children Lucas. You want to see them. You can come here. I have NO problem with that but they will not go to St. Louis, not under any circumstances so I suggest you rewrite those divorce papers and make them say that."

"Divorce?" Laney stood in the doorway and Brooke looked up just in time to see her breaking down into tears, "You're getting a divorce? Daddy's really not coming back?"

"Laney?" Brooke watched her daughter flee from the room down the hall to her bedroom. Vaughn entered the living room next, Saylor in her arms and Tavian by her side.

"Were you planning on telling us?" She asked calmly.

"Lucas, I have to call you back." Brooke hung up on her husband before he could object and she stood, taking a few steps towards her children, "Of course I was gonna tell you, but your dad was still getting the papers ready. I didn't think it was time."

"So you're just gonna divorce him? Just like that?"

"What else do you want me to do Vaughn? He's not interested in me anymore."

Vaughn was quiet. Tavian and Saylor just stared at Brooke, blank looks in their eyes.

"It's not fair." Vaughn finally managed to whisper, "Why our dad?"

"I don't know Vaughn, but please baby, don't get angry. I was gonna tell you as soon as I knew ok? And… it's all gonna work out. You'll see."

"Daddy's never coming back is he?" Tavian finally asked, "Divorce means he's not coming back."

"We don't know that. It just means that mommy and daddy won't be married anymore. It doesn't mean he's not your daddy anymore and it doesn't mean you won't see him anymore. It just means that he won't live here and… he and I will no longer be together."

"Oh." Tavian still didn't seem happy, "Can I go to bed now mommy? I don't feel good."

"Me too. I don't feel good." Saylor added, her first words since the conversation had started.

Brooke sighed. It was never a good sign when the kids were actually asking to go to bed.

"Yeah, come on. I'll tuck you in and read to you."

"No story tonight mommy." Saylor shook her head, "I just wanna sleep."

She could feel the tears coming but Brooke held back. She had to be strong for the kids, especially now.

"Alright sweetie. Let's put you to bed then."

Thirty minutes later, Tavian and Saylor were both fast asleep. Laney was locked in her room. Only Vaughn and Brooke remained as the dinner sat mostly untouched on the table.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Brooke asked Vaughn after what seemed like endless silence as they sat in the living room.

"I don't have much to say. I hate him."

"Don't hate him Vaughn." Brooke sighed, once again finding herself defending the man she too felt hatred for in that moment, "He's still your father no matter what."

"He didn't have to leave. He chose to abandon us! He could have stayed. He could have told us in person that he's gay. He could have faced things like a man but no, he left us, left you, and didn't bother to even say a real goodbye. So I do hate him. I hate him so much."

Brooke pulled Vaughn into her arms as the oldest of her children, if only by a few minutes, began to cry.

There weren't really words to say to comfort the young girl as she cried. All Brooke could do was just hold her and rub her back. At least she knew that Vaughn was getting it all out this way and not the way she had been, with angry words to the ones around her who didn't deserve it.

"You don't have to answer now Vaughn, but there is something I need you to consider." Brooke whispered after Vaughn's cries subsided a little.

Vaughn looked up into her mother's eyes and nodded.

"Your dad called to tell me that as part of the divorce settlement, he'd like for you and your brother and sisters to spend one month in the summer and all holidays except for Christmas with him in St. Louis. It's your decision ultimately. You and Laney will both have a say in it."

"Saylor and Tavian?"

"Are too young, so I get to decide."

"And?"

"I say no. If your father wants to see them, he's gonna have to come here, but if you and Laney want to go to St. Louis, I can't stop you."

"I don't want to." Laney spoke up from the doorway again.

Brooke was startled and jumped, but then she sighed.

"Laney my love, you've gotta stop sneaking up on me like that."

"Sorry mom." She joined her mom and sister on the couch, snuggling up to Brooke on Brooke's other side, "And I'm sorry I freaked out before. I guess I just thought maybe this was all a dream and Daddy would come back."

"Unfortunately babe, this is reality."

Laney sighed.

"I won't go to St. Louis. You're right. If he wants to see us, he can come here. He's the one who left us in the first place. Why should we have to go out of our way to see him now?"

"Because he's your dad." Brooke once again took his side and mentally cursed herself for being too nice, "But it's up to you. Like I said, you don't have to answer me now. Just think about it."

"I won't go either." Vaughn said simply, "It's not right for us to go there when he left us. He can come here."

"At least take some time to think about it girls."

"No need. My mind's made up." Laney replied.

"Me too." Vaughn echoed.

Brooke sighed.

"Ok, then I will tell him."

"No. I wanna tell him." Vaughn argued that point, "I'll tell him just where to get off…"

"Vaughn."

"I'll try to be nice about it." She smiled evily and picked up the phone, dialing all but one number before looking to her mom, "Is it ok to call now?"

Brooke nodded and Vaughn hit the last button, placing the phone up to her ear and waiting for her father to answer.

"Brooke, don't hang up on me like that again. I swear to…"

"Hi Dad." Vaughn said simply.

"Vaughn… sorry sweetie. I thought you were your mom."

"Obviously." She snorted, "I just wanted to tell you that Laney and I have talked with mom and she told us about what you wanted with us coming out during the summer and on holidays. Mom said that Laney and I could decide for ourselves whether or not to do it and I wanted to tell you myself what we decided."

"Ok."

"No."

"Vaughn, you are mad at me right now. I understand your anger sweetheart, but one day, you're gonna get over all of this and you're gonna want to see me."

"If you know what's best for you, you'll see us before the day that I get over all of this, but you'll come here to see us because honestly dad, it's not fair for us to have to pick up and live in a new city for a month during the summer and holidays. We shouldn't be the ones suffering in this situation. You left us."

"It's nice in St. Louis. You'd love it here."

"I love it here. So the answer is no. Laney and I will not be coming to St. Louis to visit and I hope that mom wins and Saylor and Tavian don't have to go either because you're just gonna hurt them more if they have to move around. They don't understand what's going on still. It's not fair to them."

"You let your mother and I decide what's fair to them."

"I trust mom's decision making skills. Not so much yours. Goodnight dad. Sweet dreams."

Vaughn didn't hang up but she handed the phone to her mother then headed off to bed, Laney close behind.

Brooke watched them go then held the phone to her ear.

"For what it's worth, I told them not to make a decision tonight." Brooke said as soon as the girls were gone.

"You're gonna have to fight me for custody because I'm not just going to give up my kids that easily, you know that right?"

"You gave up your kids when you walked out that door Lucas, but sure, I will fight you. I'll hire a lawyer and we can drag the kids through a messy custody battle, carrying out the divorce until a year later, nothing's been decided and you and I are still married because you're being too pigheaded to realize that what you did was wrong."

"I can't change the fact that I'm gay Brooke."

"I'm not asking you too!" Brooke was exhausted and tired of fighting, "I'm not asking you not to be gay and I'm not saying that it's wrong for you to be gay. It was wrong for you to walk out. That is all and any judge from here to Timbuktu will see it my way, but you can make me fight this out if you'd like. I'll hire a lawyer tomorrow if that's what it takes."

"I am a lawyer Brooke. You have nothing against me and my firm of legal staff."

"I have love and support. My kids support me, your brother supports me, hell, even your mother supports me."

"You told my mother?"

"Hell yes I did. She came over last week and had lunch with Saylor and I, who by the way, missed half of the week of preschool last week because she's terrified that if I drop her off one day I might not be here when she gets home like daddy wasn't here after he dropped her off on a certain Friday in the not so distant past. But that's beside the point. Your mom came over. We talked. Then we went out to dinner with all the kids and talked some more. Then I took the kids to see her and Andy this last weekend. They took in a stray dog awhile back who had puppies so we adopted one. He's coming home in a few weeks. The kids love him. Named him Nugget, a name Saylor actually came up with. Tomorrow, your mom, Nathan, and I are going to have lunch together to talk about plans for Tavian's upcoming birthday party. So yeah, I'd say they're on my side. And I'd be willing to bet that if I had a chat with your father, he'd probably even be on my side, not that I'd want him to be, but he's got some good lawyers on retainer for his car dealership right? Or maybe I'll just go to the lawyer who your mom used when she divorced your dad. Or maybe…"

"I get the point Brooke!" Lucas yelled, "Dammit! You cannot take them away from me!"

"You took them away from yourself." Brooke said calmly, "And you can always see them anytime you want… as long as it's here, and not in St. Louis."


	10. Chapter Nine

**_A/N: Thanks for the very wonderful reviews. Quick notes: 1) othbaby08, you rock for thinking of my story when it's not even being updated! lol, and also, the brathan will come, I promise. but you're right, i'm trying to write this very realistically and in order to do that, it has to move slow. but it will come, i promise. 2)shari ai jakku (did I spell that right?), thanks for continuing to read even though you don't like the idea of Lucas being gay. a lot of people have said that's the hardest part to deal with of this story, but i'm doing my best! lol. again, thanks for reading and reviewing. Here's the next chapter!_**

**Chapter Nine**

"Mr. Scott? Your sister-in-law is here to see you."

Nathan looked up from his computer screen to the clock on the wall. 9:01. He wasn't supposed to meet Brooke and his mother for hours.

"Send her in."

His office door opened slowly, revealing Brooke who tiptoed in and closed the door quietly behind herself, smiling slightly at him as she did.

"Are you busy?"

"No but I thought we were meeting for lunch at noon…"

"We are. I needed to talk to you before we met with your mom though. Is that ok?"

Anytime Brooke wanted to talk was ok with him, but he couldn't tell her that.

"Yeah, sit down. What's up?"

She sat across from him at the desk taking a deep breath. Her story began quickly.

"Lucas called last night to go over the details of the divorce settlement he planned out and we were talking and he got to the part about custody of the kids and apparently he was under the impression that I was going to allow them to actually go live with him for any period of time so he wanted them for a month during the summer and all holidays except for Christmas which I of course told him no so now he wants to fight me for custody and I need to hire a lawyer."

Nathan frowned and took a few seconds to actually comprehend the details of her story.

"Where do I come into the picture?" He finally asked, unsure of what she wanted from him.

"I need you to tell me I'm not being a heinous bitch by keeping them from him. Because it's not that I really want to keep them from seeing him at all I just… I don't want them to go there. Saylor and Tavian are having a hard enough time with all this, but then to have to travel between two cities and adjust to having two lives basically, I think it would be too hard on them."

"I agree with that much."

"So I'm right by not agreeing to the settlement then?"

"I didn't say that." Nathan watched as Brooke's face fell and he thought carefully as to how he should word what he wanted to say without hurting her feelings, "Lucas, no matter what, is still my brother and is still the kids' dad. He has a right to see them."

"Yes, but I told him he can see them whenever he wants, as long as he comes here. I just don't want to uproot them and send them to St. Louis for a month during the summer when they're already having a hard time dealing."

"Laney and Vaughn are old enough that the court will take their opinions into consideration. What do they say about this?"

"Neither one wants to go. I told them to take some time to think about it, but they both said no. They won't go to St. Louis."

Nathan sat back in his chair and took a few minutes to think. Brooke was his best friend and more than that, he loved her and probably always would, even though her heart had always belonged to his now gay brother. If she was asking him what he thought she was asking him, he'd have to choose between his brother and his best friend and that was going to be a problem.

"If you're asking me to go against Lucas in any way Brooke, I can't do that. As much as I disagree with the way he's handled this entire situation, I can't be against him. He is my brother."

"I just want you to help me find a good lawyer. Someone who is going to be able to get the judge to see things my way because if I know Lucas the way I think I know Lucas, now that I'm fighting him on this, he's gonna take it a step further and file for full custody. It's no longer going to be a civil matter."

She was right in that respect. Lucas was very stubborn and whenever he felt like he was being backed against a wall, he built stairs and went up to the next level. In other words, simply because Brooke wasn't agreeing with how he wanted things, he was going to lash out and try to take the kids away from her completely.

"I can try to talk to him." Nathan offered.

"If you think it'll help, great but if it doesn't, then I need your help in finding a good lawyer. I can't lose them Nate."

Nathan nodded and picked up his phone, quickly dialing his brother's cell phone number and waiting for an answer.

"Hey, it's Nathan."

Brooke sat back in her seat, watching Nathan's face as he talked to Lucas.

"Brooke told me about what you wanted to do with custody of the kids. I thought it'd be a good idea if I talked to you."

"She's stubborn and pigheaded and I'm going to… I don't know what but she can't just keep my children away from me like this." Lucas growled, "I've got enough going on over here with trying to get this new office open and running, I don't need to deal with her being a bitch too."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't your family come first Lucas?"

"You wanna start on me too Nathan? I don't have time for your crap. Why did you really call? She's probably sitting in your office right now, waiting for you to rescue her like you always do. 'Talk some sense into Lucas. He'll listen to you.' Well I'm done Nate. She wants to be like this, fine. Screw it. I'm filing for divorce tomorrow morning with the new revised papers. She's getting nothing. The house, the cars, the money, the kids, they're all mine."

"Don't be like this Lucas. Brooke is not trying to take the kids from you. She's trying to protect them from the confusion of having to go between two homes in two different states."

"Who knows what she told Laney and Vaughn because they already said they're not coming to St. Louis. She's probably told them a whole bunch of lies about me and brainwashed them into thinking I'm a horrible father."

"Lucas…"

"No wonder Vaughn's been so upset lately. Her mother is being wretched about this whole thing…"

"Jesus Chris Lucas will you shut up for a second and actually listen to yourself?" Nathan snapped and Brooke watched him wide eyed while he put Lucas in his place, "You're talking as if Brooke is the one in all this who banished you to St. Louis and took you out of your kids lives. If you remember correctly, you left! You left without even a goodbye hug or anything to your children. They received letters that said 'Sorry, had to leave because I'm gay.' You were too much of a coward to stay here and actually face the facts that this is a hard situation to be in. You walked out on them! The kids and Brooke were left to deal and here you are bitching because Brooke wants to protect them. You can't leave and still expect to be Father of the Year Lucas. You wanna know why Vaughn's been so upset lately? Look in the mirror and there's your reason. She misses her father as does Laney, and Tavian, and Saylor. They miss you but no, all you can think about is yourself and how this is affecting what you want."

"Nathan…"

"Don't 'Nathan' me. I'm not through. I sat here and I told Brooke that I couldn't go against you because no matter what, you're still my brother. I told her that I would talk to you because I thought that if I talked to you maybe we could work something out that would work for both of you! But I am finished with sticking up for you. You're acting more like a spoiled four year old kid right now than a 38 year old father of four who used to be a good husband and a great father. If you file those papers tomorrow and try to take everything away from Brooke then I won't be held responsible for the actions I take against you."

There was silence on the other end of the line and Nathan, for a second, thought Lucas may have hung up on him.

"How much do you love her Nathan?"

The question shocked him and Nathan frowned.

"What?"

"How much do you love Brooke? Enough to risk your family? Enough to risk losing me, and mom, and any semblance of family that we've ever had?"

"Since when are Brooke and the kids not part of that family?"

"I'm filing those papers tomorrow. You choose whose side you're gonna be on. Mine or hers. Just remember, last time she had to choose, she picked me."

Lucas hung up on Nathan then, leaving a very confused man holding a dead phone up to his ear.

Nathan looked up at Brooke as he set the phone back in it's cradle and she just stared at him, as if waiting to know the verdict.

"He's filing for divorce tomorrow. He's gonna try to take everything from you."

"Then I need to talk to a lawyer today." Brooke said matter-of-factly, "I can't risk him filing and not knowing my options of retaliation."

"We should call mom and let her know we can't make lunch. I'll take the rest of the day off and I'll help you."

"Nate, you were right. He's your brother. I… I asked for too much. Just that conversation… I heard the things you said to him. And even though you're my best friend and I'd love nothing more than to have you by my side through all this, I can't ask you to turn your back on your family and choose me over him. It wouldn't be right."

Nathan managed a small smile at her, recalling Lucas's parting words to him._ 'Last time she had to chose, she picked me.'_ If there ever came a time when Brooke would have to choose between the two brothers again, he couldn't give her a reason to pick Lucas.

"Brooke, you are my family now."


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

"What's the main concern here Mrs. Scott?"

"Please, call me Brooke." Brooke smiled at the middle aged lawyer sitting behind his cherry wood desk in his high class office, "The main concern here is my children. I want them to be safe."

"And you don't think they could be safe in St. Louis with their father?"

"No, at least not yet. Lucas just… announced one day that he was gay and my kids, the two younger ones, they don't understand what that means. And I don't think they need to find out by experiencing it first hand. To them… this whole thing is confusing and I don't want to confuse them further by sending them to a place they've never even heard of for any extended period of time."

"Ok…" The lawyer took some notes and looked back over at Brooke, "The base fact is that Lucas, try as he might, will probably not be able to take everything from you. Something like that rarely happens these days and certainly not in these circumstances."

"That's good then…"

"There's a catch though." The lawyer stopped her mid-celebration, "Settlements are exactly as they sound… they make both parties SETTLE. You want full custody of your kids then you're going to have to give up something else. You want the house, that's something else you have to be willing to give up. You understand what I'm saying?"

"I don't want full custody though. I want him to be able to see them whenever he wants, but I want him to do it here. He's the one pushing for full custody now."

"Alright…" The lawyer paused and nodded for a minute while he thought, "I would like to wait until he makes the first move then. Let him file his petition for divorce with everything that he wants to get out of it. His lawyer can contact me and then when I have his list of demands, I'll contact you and we can go over it. See if there's anything we can give him and we'll go from there. How does that sound?"

Brooke looked to Nathan for reassurance and he nodded at her.

"Ok. That sounds good." Brooke agreed.

"Alright, I will call you as soon as I hear anything. If Lucas contacts you again, my advice as your lawyer is to tell him to contact me. Don't discuss any of this with him anymore just in case he's trying to rile you up. Let me handle him."

"Yes sir, I can do that." Brooke smiled and shook the mans hand as she and Nathan prepared to leave the office, "Thank you for seeing us on such short notice."

"No problem. Nathan here has done me many a favor, I owed him at least this one and you have a good case."

"Nonetheless, thank you."

"I'll meet you in the car." Nathan said to Brooke as he stopped outside of the lawyer's office, "Ok?"

"Alright." Brooke headed for the car.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Nathan turned to his friend and narrowed his eyes.

"You're not giving her false hope are you?"

"Not at all. She does have a good case Nathan. And as long as we handle things the right way, she'll get everything she wants. It's just gonna take some time."

"Ok, because she deserves the truth and she's strong so she could handle the truth if you had to tell her there wasn't a chance in hell she was going to win this thing."

"She has every chance in hell to win this thing but I gotta tell you… putting me against Lucas Scott? He's the fastest rising corporate lawyer in the US. He's half my age and already makes 3 times the money I make. This case could make or break my entire career."

"If you didn't want to take it, you didn't have to."

"It's not that I didn't want to, I'm just saying it's risky… for me. But we'll work it out. Like I said, the case is strong and I'm sure we'll get Brooke everything that she wants."

"And hey, on the bright side, if your career ends because of this case, I'll just put you on personal retainer and you can retire early." Nathan grinned at his long time friend as he began to head for the elevator.

"Oh very fun Nathan. I'm laughing on the inside!"

"Whatever Tim. Call me as soon as you hear from Lucas."

"Alright man."

Nathan rode the elevator down and headed for his car, slipping into the driver's seat and pausing to look over at Brooke who was staring at him amusedly.

"Tim's a nice guy." She finally said after several moments of silence, "What'd you talk about after I left?"

"Just wanted to make sure I knew everything." Nathan replied as he started the car, "It's set. He'll make sure that you're taken care of."

Brooke just smiled and turned to look at the passing scenery.

"Thanks again by the way." She said later in the ride, "For calling in a favor and getting me a good lawyer. You don't have to do this. You could still stick with Lucas."

"My brother's being a royal jackass about all of this. I'll stick with you thanks." Nathan smiled over at her, "Besides you're prettier and a much better cook. I am starving."

Brooke laughed loudly.

"Well, the kids have to be picked up and today is the one day they don't have other things going on. How about we pick them up and I'll make you all dinner?"

"That definitely sounds like a plan." Nathan agreed easily, "And we should invite mom since we skipped out on lunch. She'll want to know what's going on."

"You really think we should tell her?" Brooke was skeptical on that front.

She loved Karen and she knew Karen loved her, but going against her oldest son? Brooke was highly doubtful that Karen would see things the same way Nathan did.

"Of course, she's my mom. And if nothing else, she'll at least call Lucas and tell him he's a dumb-ass."

"It won't look bad on my part if I'm rallying his family against him?"

"He'd do it to you in a heartbeat."

"Yeah, but I'm getting to his family first. He won't have the chance."

"Don't worry about it Brooke. We're not rallying mom against him. We're just telling her the facts. She can do with them whatever she'd like to."

And she did…

"How could you?" Karen screamed into the phone receiver, "How dare you threaten to take everything away from her? This is Brooke for Christ sake Lucas! Your WIFE! And maybe you don't love her anymore or you've decided to do something else with your life but you do NOT threaten to take her children from her. I raised you better than that!"

Luckily both Laney and Vaughn were at the neighbor's house working on a school project with their classmate and Tavian and Saylor were at the store with Brooke while Karen laid into Lucas. Nathan had never heard her this angry and there had been plenty of times when they were younger when they had given her reason to be angry with them. This topped every speech they'd ever received.

"There is no excuse for being that heartless do you understand me? Not one excuse. Your children's welfare depend on a loving, caring environment. A stable environment and I don't know how you plan on giving them that when you're clearly selfish as hell. I'm backing Brooke on this one and clearly Nathan is too. What can you possibly gain from all this now?"

Nathan couldn't hear Lucas's reply, but it couldn't have been what Karen wanted to hear because she immediately hung up and sat silently fuming.

"Mom…"

"Don't speak Nathan. There aren't words for how angry I am at him right now."

Nathan just nodded and sat with her in silence until Laney and Vaughn came bursting through the door.

"Hey, where's mom?" Vaughn asked as she, Laney, and the two teens from next door stood standing in the living room doorway.

"She went to the store to get dessert I believe. Why?"

"Cause we wanted to ask her something. Grandma? Are you ok?"

"I'm fine sweetheart." Karen pasted a smile on quickly and looked up at the kids, "What was it that you wanted to ask your mom? Maybe we can make a decision for her."

"Um, well we wanted to know if we could stay the night next door. Haley said it would be ok…" Vaughn said.

"Mrs. Keller." Nathan corrected her quickly and she groaned.

"She said to call her Haley and besides, she didn't change her last name when she married Chris because she's a singer so she kept James as her last name." Vaughn explained, "But it doesn't matter. Can we stay?"

"It's a school night. I don't think so." Nathan wasn't saying no because it was a school night really. More because the scrawny boy standing behind Vaughn looked way too happy at the prospect of her spending the night.

"They live right next door Nathan and the girls could use some fun." Karen objected to his decision, "Let them spend the night. If Brooke has a problem with it when she comes home, then we'll go get the girls from next door and bring them home."

"Thank you Grandma." Laney and Vaughn both kissed their grandmother's cheek quickly before they took off for their rooms, dragging the teenage girl who had been standing with them in the same direction.

The boy began to follow but Nathan stopped him.

"Hold it right there slick. What's your name again?"

The teenager looked scared but faced Nathan and answered.

"CJ."

"CJ?"

"It's short for Chris Jr."

"Right. CJ, stay away from my niece."

"Nathan!" Karen scolded her own son and turned to CJ, "I'm sorry sweetie. Nathan's a little protective of the girls. What he's trying to say is that he understands the age that you're at and the age the girls are at and he knows how much you probably like them, or just one of them, same difference, but that in their best interest and yours, it would be better if you just stayed friends."

"That's not what I was trying to say." Nathan objected.

"Yes it was." Karen smacked his knee and smiled at CJ still standing in front of her, "You understand CJ?"

"I understand and you don't have to worry. Vaughn and I…"

"I don't like the way Vaughn and I sounds like a pair." Nathan butted in again, "Sounds too much like a couple."

"She's my girlfriend." CJ admitted, "But Brooke and Lucas know that and so do my parents. They're all ok with it."

"I'm not ok with it." Nathan looked over at his mother, "You're still gonna let the girls spend the night over there?"

"I'll go talk to the parent in charge. You can come with me CJ. I'd be afraid what Nathan might do if I left you two alone…" Karen raised her eyebrow at her son as she guarded the teenager out of the house.

Nathan could hear the three girls giggling and he had to admit it felt good to hear them laugh. Laney and Vaughn could definitely use the fun at this time in their lives.

"Hey, where was your mom going? I just saw her and CJ leaving the house." Brooke came inside the house and dropped all her groceries onto the counter top.

"The girls are gonna spend the night next door if it's ok with you. Mom went to make sure that chaperones would be present at all times so that the little punk couldn't make moves on Vaughn."

Brooke just laughed as Nathan entered the kitchen and stared at her.

"CJ and Vaughn can barely hold hands without giggling and moving away from each other. Trust me, there will be no moves made between them. And besides, Laney and Shauna are around them constantly. Your sisters watching you? Not something I think they'd like."

Nathan was feeling slightly better about the situation but he was still uneasy.

"Hey, where's Tavian and Saylor?"

"They fell asleep in the car." Brooke grinned at him, "Help me bring them in and I'll make you a sundae."

"I would have helped you anyway but now that you offered a sundae…" Nathan smiled back and they headed out to the car together


	12. Chapter Eleven

**A/N: Ok, I know that it has been FOREVER since I updated this story and I am soooooo sorry. I was finally able to sit down and start writing it again and I got two chapters written so I am posting this one. If anyone is still reading this, just leave me a quick review and I promise I will get the next chapter up in the next few days. Again, sorry it's taken so long. Hope you like the new chapters. Oh and for those of you who caught the mistake, I realized that in the first few chapters somewhere I wrote that Vaughn wanted nothing to do with the boys that went to her school and then later said that she was "dating" CJ. I'm an idiot and I made a mistake so we're sticking with her "dating" CJ and forgetting about the first comment, lol. Thanks!**

**Chapter Eleven**

Brooke woke up the next morning to loud banging on the door. It took her a minute to realize what it was, but then she shot up off the couch, silently cursing at the pinched nerve she had just discovered in her neck.

She would have to remind herself that staying up late watching movies with Nathan was not an option when you had to wake up in the morning.

"I'm coming!" She called out to whoever was on the other side of the door.

She opened it to find Haley scowling back at her.

"Vaughn and CJ slept in the same bed last night. I found her there this morning when I went in to wake him up for school."

"Oh jesus…"

Vaughn and Laney came skulking into the house, brushing past her as they headed for their bedrooms.

"Laney get ready for school. Vaughn, get your butt back over here now."

Brooke invited Haley in but Haley excused herself to see to her own kids since she had left the older ones in charge until she returned. She apologized for the rude awakening and then headed back to her house, casting a quick look at Vaughn before shaking her head and leaving.

"Why is she shaking her head at me? She swears that I like seduced her son or something!" Vaughn began to protest before Brooke had even closed the door.

"Hey, shut up!" Brooke yelled, surprising not only Vaughn, but herself too. She rarely yelled, especially like that, "You listen to me and you listen to me good. Your father and I were lenient and we let you have a so-called boyfriend. We let you date CJ. We let you go over there often. We trusted you. Now you're gonna tell me exactly what happened last night and you're gonna tell me now without so much as a protest, a scowl, an eye roll, or one single negative comment. You have two seconds to start talking."

Vaughn took the two seconds to snap out of shock at the tone her mother was using with her. She had never seen her mom so pissed off in her life.

"Nothing happened." She said immediately, "I swear to you mom, nothing happened. We were watching a movie and we fell asleep. It was innocent."

Nathan stumbled into the kitchen and looked over at the two of them, one eyebrow raised.

"You could wake the dead with that scream of yours." He said to Brooke casually.

She made an angry face at him and then looked back at Vaughn. Falling asleep during a movie was something that Brooke could identify with. She too had done that last night and Nathan was standing in her kitchen as a living testimony of that. So she couldn't be so mad at Vaughn if that was what really happened.

"You better not be lying to me young lady."

"I'm not mom. I promise. You can still trust me. We didn't do anything."

Brooke looked deep into her eyes and could see no signs of dishonesty, so she settled on believing her.

"Go get ready for school."

Vaughn ran out of the kitchen faster than a race horse leaving Brooke to face Nathan who was now pouring himself some orange juice.

"So the boy was trouble after all huh?" Nathan remarked with his casual tone once again.

"No." Brooke bit back, "They fell asleep during a movie. Kinda like two other people I know."

Nathan looked over at her and smiled. He remembered every solitary detail of last night, right down to how she looked as she drooled. Truth was, she had fallen asleep during the movie. He had just watched her and reveled in her beauty.

Somewhere around 3 am he thought about going home but he couldn't make himself leave her. She held him captive even in sleep and so he had moved her to stretch out on the couch, he himself curling up behind her and falling asleep.

Only when he woke up, she was in the kitchen screaming and he was cold.

"I guess I can understand that one then." Nathan took a sip of his orange juice and watched Brooke busy herself about the kitchen, "How'd you find out?"

"Haley brought the girls home and she looked pissed. She told me what happened and then stormed back to her own house. I'll have to go over and talk to her later."

"Well… I think that since I slept here last night and I have no clothes other than what I'm wearing… I'm gonna be late to work so might as well make it good. Need any help with anything?"

Brooke laughed heartily.

"Yeah. You could go wake Tavian up and get him ready for school."

"Aye aye captain." Nathan headed down the hallway and turned into Tavian's room.

The little boy was already awake.

"Hey little man, you're already awake."

"Yeah." Tavian nodded, "But I don't know what to wear. Can you help me?"

"Sure." Nathan moved to where Tavian was standing by his dresser, "It's cold out today. Pants probably huh?"

"Yeah. They gotta be blue though to follow dress code."

Nathan grinned.

"Alright, blue it is." He pulled out a pair of blue pants from the drawer and closed it, "And how about a red shirt today huh?"

"Sure." Tavian agreed when Nathan pulled a red polo shirt from the next drawer up.

"Looks good. Clean underwear…" Nathan grabbed a pair from the top drawer and then closed up the dresser, looking down at Tavian, "Here ya go."

"I can do it by myself now." Tavian took the clothes from Nathan's hands and walked over to his bed, laying them down there, "Thanks Uncle Nate."

"You're welcome buddy. Come find me in the kitchen when you're all done ok?"

"Ok."

Nathan was grinning as he left the room. One room over was his favorite niece, sitting up in her toddler bed but not looking quite awake.

"Saylor…" He said melodically as he stepped into the room, "Saylor…"

Her eyes looked in his direction but she was still clearly on another planet in her mind.

"Come on baby doll." He scooped her out of her bed and carried her out to the kitchen, sitting her zombie like form at the kitchen table before heading to the refrigerator, "One cup of kiddie coffee coming right up."

That comment elicited the first giggle of the morning from Saylor's lips and Nathan smiled. He poured her a cup of chocolate milk and took it to her at the table.

"For the lady in pink, your drink ma'am."

That was the second giggle.

Saylor took a drink and while she sipped, Nathan made funny faces at her. Her third giggle made chocolate milk go up her nose and all down the front of her pajamas.

"Nathan…" Brooke moaned, knowing immediately that it was his fault her daughter was laughing into her cup.

She brought paper towels as Nathan tended to Saylor while she sputtered and laughed.

"Milk out my nose." She giggled happily which made Brooke laugh and Nathan soon joined in.

"That's one way of waking the kid up." Brooke managed to say as she pushed Nathan slightly, "You are no help."

"Who said I was here to help? I'm here for the comic relief."

The episode from that morning was all that Nathan could think about all day long as he sat in his office, pretending to attempt to work. Sure he had helped Brooke and Lucas over the years with the kids. He had done all the dutiful uncle things like taking them to basketball games and the zoo, but this morning… he had felt as if he actually belonged with them, in their home, as an actual everyday member of the family. He wasn't sure though if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

On one hand, he loved them all so much, he could easily see himself as a husband and a father there. On the other hand, that would mean basically replacing his own brother, who he was mad at yes, but who he still loved and respected. He couldn't replace him even if Brooke wanted him which was his third point to himself. Brooke didn't want him. She looked to him as her best friend. Her pal. Her confidante. But not romantically. He had come to terms with that long ago. Or had he?

She had pointed out this morning, between the chocolate milk spill and hustling the kids out to school, that she couldn't believe he hadn't married and had kids of his own yet. He was so good with his nieces and nephew, why didn't he have a few of his own? He couldn't come up with an answer.

Only now, as he thought about that question again, he realized… he had never dated seriously because he had always been in love with Brooke. And since he had never dated seriously, he had never even thought to get married. And without being married, he hadn't thought to have children. So maybe he really hadn't come to terms with the fact that Brooke didn't love him like he loved her. He was still technically waiting for her wasn't he?

"Shit." He cursed out loud and stood from his desk chair, looking out the window at the view below.

He had to do something. He had to date… for real. Find a woman. Settle down. Have kids. He wanted kids. Three or four like Brooke and Lucas had, a middle sized family, not too big or small.

He thought about this some more. Yes, he could date. He could find a wife. He wasn't rich but he was well off. And he knew probably better than he should that he wasn't ugly. Jane told him all the time that he should date. In fact…

"Jane?" Nathan called through his intercom, "Could you come in here for a second?"

"Yes Mr. Scott." She appeared in the doorway almost instantly and he found himself sizing her up.

She was attractive enough. Tall, skinny, long lengs. Her blonde locks fell loosely on her shoulders and when she smiled, her teeth looked straight and white. Yeah, he felt himself thinking, she would be a nice starting point. He could see himself with her, couldn't he?

"Would you like to go out with me Friday night?"

Jane frowned.

"Like on a date Mr. Scott?"

"Yes Jane, like on a date." Nathan smiled but suddenly found himself making a mental note to find out if there was history of mental illness in her family.

"Um… sure. That'd be fine." She smiled at him with her straight white teeth.

"Ok, um… is 7 o'clock good?"

"I'll have to check your schedule."

Nathan almost laughed.

"Do that and then make a note for me that we have a date."

"Ok Mr. Scott."

"And Jane?"

She turned back to look at him before she left his office.

"Yes Mr. Scott?"

"You're gonna have to start calling me Nathan."

When he was alone with his thoughts again, he sat down and began to think of what his future could be like with his detail-oriented secretary. He imagined the house and their four kids. He could see every detail of it all.

And then he realized, that their house greatly resembled Brooke and Lucas's house. And their kids greatly resembled his nieces and nephew. And Jane, the fantasy version of her, greatly resembled Brooke.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

It was bothering her more than it should have. She knew she shouldn't care and yet here she was, sitting with her second best friend in the world, Peyton Jagielski, and obsessing over it. Nathan had a date.

"So what bothers you more? Your husband is gay? Or Nathan has a date?" Peyton teased as she bounced her 10-month-old daughter on her knee.

"Shut up." Brooke retorted, pulling the now heated bowl of macaroni and cheese from her microwave, "Nathan has a date. So what? That doesn't bother me at all."

"Liar." Peyton always said exactly what was on her mind, "You've been obsessing over it ever since he called and told you he wasn't gonna make Friday night dinner because of it. It's definitely bothering you."

"Only because he cancelled our plans." Brooke lied, setting out plates on the table, "The kids were counting on him being here."

"Bull." Peyton laughed, "You're a horrible liar."

"Whatever. Nathan's date is not bothering me."

Brooke hoped that Peyton would just drop the subject right there but in true Peyton fashion, she didn't and they argued over it for the next ten minutes until dinner was ready and their combined 6 children came running to the table.

While everyone around her ate, Brooke took the quiet time to think. The truth was, Nathan's date was bothering her. It was bothering her a lot.

He had never dated before. Not since high school… or maybe college, she wasn't sure. Or maybe he had and she hadn't noticed because she was so pre-occupied with Lucas and the kids. When she really thought about it, she couldn't remember Nathan ever having a serious girlfriend, but it wasn't possible that he had gone all these years without even a single date was it?

"Earth to mom, come in mom." Vaughn waved her hand lazily in front of her mother's face until Brooke returned her thoughts to the dinner at hand.

"No it's not bothering you at all." Peyton scoffed and then turned to feed the baby some food.

"Did you need something?" Brooke ignored Peyton's comment and looked at Vaughn.

"Yeah. This weekend is the Freshman Class picnic. We want to take a cake. Think you could buy one or make one for us?"

"Of course." Brooke smiled at her daughter, "I had forgotten about that. Are the Kellers going?"

"I think so. Shauna said she was bringing soda. Why?"

"Cause I need to talk to them about what happened with you and CJ. Should be as good a time as any."

"Oooh, gossip." Peyton grinned, "What happened with you and CJ?"

"Nothing." Vaughn groaned, "Thanks mom."

"I would have found out eventually anyway." Peyton said happily, "So tell me the juice."

"There's nothing to tell." Vaughn insisted loudly, "We fell asleep watching a movie. Haley woke us up in the morning from the same bed. It was an accident."

"Eeew, Vaughn slept in the same bed as a boy!" 8 year old Charlotte squealed, "That's gross!"

"Thank god you think so." Peyton smiled at her daughter happily, "So are you SURE that nothing happened? Cause your mom's cool. I think she'd be alright if you just tell us all the truth."

"I swear nothing happened." Vaughn let her head fall to the table with a bang, "Please God, shoot me now."

"I really don't think anything did happen." Brooke defended Vaughn, "She doesn't usually lie to me and besides, just like I told Nathan, the two of them can barely hold hands without freaking out."

"Oh My God!" Vaughn sat up straight, "Could we please not have this conversation? Enough about me and boys, Laney's running for Class President."

"Vaughn!" Laney snapped her head around to glare at her sister, "I told you not to SAY anything!"

"Laney…" Brooke grinned from ear to ear, "That's great honey. Why didn't you want us to know?"

"I don't think I'm gonna go through with it. I signed up awhile ago and… we're supposed to start campaigning next week but I really don't feel like it."

"She did it cause Dad wanted her to and now that he's gone, she thinks that she shouldn't do it." Vaughn said simply, "I told her to forget about that and to go for it, but she won't listen to me."

"I'm gonna kill you later. I never liked being a twin much anyway." Laney threatened her sister.

"Wait a second…" Brooke stopped the threats and stared at Vaughn, "Is what she said true? You're thinking of not going through with it just because your dad's not here to support you?"

""It's not that same." Laney mumbled pushing her food around on her plate now, "Besides, no one's gonna vote for me."

"I was planning on voting for you." 15 year old Jenny said and then quickly averted her eyes when Laney shot her death glares.

"There's one vote and I'm sure your sister is gonna vote for you."

"She's not gonna be around because I am seriously going to kill her." Laney groaned.

Vaughn just laughed.

"You love me too much to kill me."

"Laney…" Brooke sighed, "Honey, if you want to run for class president, then you should, whether or not your father is here to support you. But you know, I bet he'd still support you if you reminded him you're running. Just because he's in St. Louis…"

"Doesn't mean he doesn't care." Laney finished the sentence for her, "Yeah, I know. I've heard it all before but it doesn't change the fact that I don't want to run anymore so I'm not going to. Thanks for the pep talk. Can I be excused now?"

The room fell silent at Laney's anger and Brooke just nodded to excuse her from the table.

It wasn't until Peyton and her three girls left twenty minutes later that Brooke found Laney crying on her bed.

"Knock knock." Brooke has always believed that the kids deserved their privacy and never entered without a knock first, "Can I come in?"

Laney nodded, sitting up and wiping away her tears quickly.

Brooke sat down on the bed and pulled Laney into her arms, just holding her in silence for awhile.

"It's ok to cry. You know that right?"

Laney nodded.

"And it's ok to miss him."

She nodded again.

"But please baby, don't give up something you want because he's not here. Your dad wouldn't want that at all."

Laney sniffled slightly.

"It's not so much because he's not here." She said softly, "It's because if I do it, then I'm giving him some sort of pride in something I do. He wanted me to run and so I signed up. And the way I feel right now, I don't want him to be able to think he has a say in anything I do."

"You're angry at him."

"More than I could even tell you."

Brooke could understand the feeling and sympathize. She herself was outraged with her husband. Especially since she had found out that his lawyer had contacted hers, and their list of demands was just getting bigger.

"All that I ask Laney, is that you don't let the anger get the best of you. I want you to do what makes you happy, regardless of how happy it would make anyone else. I want you to be able to separate your anger for your father from your anger at the rest of the world. And I want you to be able to express it, because the more you keep it bottled up inside, the more you're hurting yourself. And I only want what's best for you."

"I know."

"So next time something like this comes up, please talk to me. That way, you won't have to threaten to kill your sister when she tells me instead."

Laney let out a slight laugh and Brooke felt better about her daughter's emotional state immediately.

"While we're here… anything else you'd like to tell me?"

"Yes." Laney sat up and looked at her mother grinning, "You should know that the boy who asked me to the end of the school year dance is the last person in the world that daddy, and maybe you too, would want me to go with."

"Uh oh. Who is he?" Brooke prepared herself for the worst.

"Cameron Kennedy."

The name immediately registered in Brooke's mind.

"Your father's boss's son? That Cameron Kennedy?"

Laney nodded.

"Oh baby… daddy is definitely not going to be happy."

The thing about Laney dating Cameron was this… a few years back, when Lucas had still been a relatively small idea in a big corporation, he had a friend. And this friend, who worked with him, also had a teenage daughter. The teenage daughter had begun to date Cameron and at first, it seemed almost god sent to the family. Lucas's friend kept getting raises and he was promoted up the corporate ladder very quickly. And then one day, the teenage daughter decides she was bored with Cameron Kennedy, and she dumped him. Two weeks later, Lucas's friend was unemployed.

Cameron was known around the office as a vulture. He'd attend all the family picnics, smiling at the swooning teenage daughters of all his fathers employees, and then he'd pick a victim, swoop in, and pick at them until they cracked. Some daughters gave up personal information on their families which got their fathers fired. Others got bored with him and dumped him which got their fathers fired. And others… they clung to him, and then he dumped them, which made their fathers angry, which got them fired. All the way around, it was a bad situation.

Brooke left Laney's room and padded to her own room, checking on each of her other sleeping children on the way. She contemplated all that Laney had just told her and considered her options. She could a) forbid Laney from going out with the boy and thus anger both her daughter and Cameron, getting Lucas fired or b) let her go out with him and eventually get Lucas fired anyway. Oh the possibilities.

Brooke was still thinking about the possibilities when she awoke the next morning, Saylor sitting on her bed staring at her.

"Say? What's wrong?"

Brooke rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and started to sit up.

"Nothing." Saylor shrugged, "You're so pretty when you sleep."

Brooke grinned, wondering what would make the little girl so observant all of a sudden.

"Well thank you baby doll. But what are you doing awake already?"

"It's time for school. Laney and Vaughn already left. Tavian's eating breafast."

"What?" Brooke looked over at her clock sitting on the nightstand next to her bed and hurriedly jumped out of bed, "It's 7:15. Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"I already told you mommy. You look so pretty when you sleep."

Brooke groaned, quickly rushing around her room to find clothing to throw on. Tavian had to be at school in fifteen minutes and she was determined to get him there on time.

"Go put your shoes on Saylor. We gotta go."

Brooke headed for the kitchen at break neck speed, Saylor fast on her heels.

"Tavian, you almost done with that cereal baby? We gotta get you to school."

"Haley's taking me." Tavian replied calmly, "She said she'd be back as soon as she dropped Laney and Vaughn off. You can go back to sleep mommy."

"Hey Tavian, you ready to go kiddo. We're running a little late."

As if on cue, Haley Keller breezed into the kitchen but stopped short when she saw Brooke standing by the sink.

"Oh hey, the kids said you were still sleeping so I was gonna drop them all off. You didn't have to get up."

"Haley thank you but I didn't mean to sleep in. My alarm must have been set wrong or something. I can take Tavian and… I'll probably just keep Saylor home with me today." Having just woken up, Brooke couldn't even fathom trying to get Saylor to pre-school.

"Yay! I get to stay home!" Saylor rejoiced as she joined them in the kitchen with her shoes on.

"Well…" Haley smiled at the little girl, "How about I still take Tavian and you go ahead and spend some time with Saylor?"

"Yeah, I gotta go. I'm gonna be late." Tavian grabbed his backpack, having finished his cereal, and stood waiting as if it had suddenly occurred to him that school was waiting.

"Umm…" Brooke sighed, still caught off guard from waking up late, "Ok, yeah. Thank you Haley. And maybe later we can talk about what happened with CJ and Vaughn the other day…"

"No worries, they explained it all to me. But I will come by later. I get lonely over there when Chris is on tour."

Brooke stood back an nodded, not really sure how to reply to that. At least Haley's husband came home when all was said and done. Lucas wasn't coming back.

"Alright, I'll see you later. Tavian, come on buddy." Haley ushered Tavian from the house and waved a quick goodbye to me before shutting the door, leaving Saylor and I in complete silence.

After a few moments, Saylor finally said something.

"Mommy, can we go to the zoo today? I wanna see the monkeys."

The randomness in Saylor's words struck a funny chord with Brooke who began to laugh, scooping Saylor up into her arms and heading back towards her bedroom.

"Yes, we can go to the zoo today. Right after mommy takes a nap."

"Mommy! You just woke up!" Saylor objected as they entered Brooke's room and she was tossed onto the bed, "Please mommy, we gotta go now. Uncle Nate can go too. Call him."

Saylor crawled across the bed and grabbed the phone off the side table before Brooke could object.

"Hurry mommy. We're gonna be late."

"Late for what?" Brooke questioned, taking the phone from her daughters hands without even thinking.

"Mommy." Saylor had a look on her face that said "duh!" to Brooke, "The monkeys!"

In true dramatic Saylor style she hit the back of her hand to her forehead and went crashing back into the cushion of blankets on Brooke's bed.

Brooke couldn't help but laugh at her silly child.

"Ok, I'm gonna call Uncle Nate but he's probably working and if he is, then just you and I can go ok?"

"Ok, but hurry mommy. The monkeys are waiting."

Brooke was still laughing when Nathan's secretary answered the phone and that was when she remembered that Nathan was going on a date Friday night. It all came back to her and she groaned.

"Hey Jane, it's Brooke. Is Nathan in yet?"

"Sorry Mrs. Scott, he's not here yet. You want me to leave a message for him?"

"No thank you Jane. I'll call his cell." Brooke hung up and stuck her tongue out at Saylor who laughed before she dialed Nathan's cell phone number.

He answered on the third ring.

"Hello gorgeous, what can I do for you this morning?"

Brooke laughed loudly.

"Well good morning to you too. Are you on your way to work?"

"I am. What are you doing? Taking Tavian to school?"

"Actually, Haley took all the kids this morning. Or well… all except Saylor who has a request."

"Yeah?" Brooke could hear Nathan's smile, "What does my favorite niece want this morning?"

"She would like for you and I to take her to the zoo to see the monkeys."

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"I told her you were probably working but that I'd ask you. Don't feel pressured."

Brooke almost felt nervous as she waited for an answer from Nathan. She wasn't sure why but she definitely couldn't deny that she wanted him to go. She wanted to spend the day with him and the fact that increasingly she wanted to spend more and more time with him bothered her. It almost bothered her as much as knowing he was starting to date bothered her.

"Let me call Jane at the office and see if I have anything important to do today. If I don't then I would love to go see the monkeys with you and Saylor. Let me call you back ok?"

"Ok, but hurry cause Saylor insists that the monkeys are waiting for us."

Saylor giggled on the bed, covering her mouth to try and be quiet while Brooke was on the phone. Nathan laughed too.

"Alright, I'll call you right back."

Brooke hung up the phone and smiled.

"What'd he say? What'd he say?" Saylor questioned immediately, "Is he coming?"

"He's making sure he doesn't have anything important to do at work and then he's calling us back. While we wait, let's get you dressed huh?"

"Ok." Saylor jumped off the bed and ran for her room. Brooke laughed quietly and followed her.

"It's hot outside. Why are you putting on a sweater?" Brooke questioned as she watched Saylor fight to get into a pink sweatshirt.

"I like it." Saylor said simply, finally getting it over her head.

"Here crazy girl, take that sweater off and put this on." I tossed her a pair of pink cotton Capri's and matching pink cotton t-shirt, both of which had embroidered flowers on them. While she changed into those I went in search of the matching hat I knew went with the outfit. She also had pink flip flops somewhere, I just wasn't sure where. While I searched, the phone rang which made Saylor very excited.

"Answer it, answer it!"

Brooke was laughing as she answered.

"So, did we get out of work today or do I have to tell your niece you're choosing boring paperwork over her?"

Nathan laughed on the other end.

"I got out of work. I'm on my way over now."

"Awesome. Say, Uncle Nate's coming."

"Yay!" Saylor yelled, tossing her shirt into the air and then having to go find it to actually put it on.

Brooke just smiled and gave up on finding the hat, leaving the room to go get herself dressed.

"So what's the damage? What are we taking you away from today?" Brooke asked as she went through her closet, "Anything important?"

"Nah." Nathan replied, "Stupid stuff. Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow. Besides, how often do I get to hang out with my favorite sister-in-law and my favorite niece?"

"You know, considering you have no other sister-in-law's, it's fine to call me your favorite, but you do have two other nieces and if they ever heard you say that Saylor is your favorite…"

"They'd tell me that Jake is their favorite uncle." Nathan laughed, "I said it to Vaughn once and she said that she liked Jake better anyway. I, of course, had to point out that Jake is not actually her uncle but she said it didn't matter. She liked him more. It's kind of a running joke we have now."

Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Whatever you say loser. I'm gonna hang up because I have to get dressed. See you soon?"

"Yeah, five minutes."

"Ok."

Brooke hung up and tossed the phone on her bed while she picked out her clothes for the day. It usually wasn't hard for her to just find something and toss it on, knowing that the only people who would usually see her were the people at her kids schools. Today, she found that she wanted to look nice, which wasn't usually a factor. With four kids, looking nice was something she only tried for on special occasions. Today though… she didn't even want to think about why she suddenly wanted to look good. The only possible explanation was her newfound feelings for Nathan and those she was trying to deny as much as possible.

She finally settled on a floral tank top and jeans. It was nice without seeming like she was trying too hard. The last thing she needed was for Nathan to realize she was trying to impress him.

"Ooh, mommy. You look really pretty." Saylor commented while Brooke was in the bathroom brushing her teeth.

"Great." Brooke thought to herself, "Even the kid noticed."

"Honey I'm home!" Nathan called from the other end of the house when he got there, "Where are you guys?"

"We're in mommy's room!" Saylor yelled back and Brooke felt herself getting nervous.

It was ridiculous, she told herself, to get nervous about seeing Nathan. She had known Nathan forever. He was her best friend. Why was she freaking out?

"Wow, you look great." Nathan commented when he entered the bathroom, "You get all dressed up just for me?"

"Yes." Brooke wanted to say but she refrained and instead just kinda laughed it off, "No, I got all dressed up for the monkeys."

They shared a look and for a second Brooke thought he was gonna make another comment but Saylor launched herself into his arms before he could say another word.

"Uncle Nate! We get to see monkeys today."

"Yes we do." Nathan replied, picking her up and hugging her, "You look just as gorgeous as your mommy today. There must be something in the water huh?"

"No silly. We're just naturally beautiful." Saylor flipped her hair playfully which made Nathan crack up.

"She's definitely got your confidence Brooke."

Brooke grinned.

"I'm ready if you two are." Brooke said as she smiled up at the two of them, "Let's go huh?"

Nathan just nodded and followed her out of the bathroom, into the kitchen where she grabbed her purse and car keys.

"I'll drive." Nathan offered, "My car's nicer."

Brooke made a face but let him drive, following him and Saylor out.

"And I even have the car seat set up for Ms. Saylor." Nathan opened the back door and dropped Saylor into the back seat, reaching in and buckling her up once she was settled in her car seat.

It was very weird but Brooke once again found herself feeling the attraction to Nathan. It was like they were a family, which they were family, but it felt like he was the father in this situation, not the uncle. She wasn't sure that she should be feeling that way, but she definitely was.

"Everyone in?" Nathan asked as he took his seat and closed his door.

"Yep." Saylor announced very happily, "Let's see the monkeys!"

Brooke and Nathan exchanged a look that said it all as he turned on the car. It was going to be a long day.


End file.
